KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Sarawak, under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), should take a serious look at the claims by the descendants of the last Sulu Sultan for violation of the 1878 agreement signed by Sultan Jamal Al Alam, Baron de Overbeck and the British North Borneo Company’s Alfred Dent.
In stating this, Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan said it could be that by taking Sabah as part of Malaysia from the British, Malaysia being the successor of this colony from United Kingdom ‘made herself being sued by the descendants of the Sulu Sultan for the breaches of the 1878 Agreement’.
“It’s said that the breach was because Malaysia had stopped paying Sultan Sulu’s heirs their annual RM5,300 cession money since 2013 as a result of the Lahad Datu armed incursion.
“The award of about RM62 billion is called the ‘largest arbitration in Spain’ and originated in Spain, but has now moved to Paris,” said Voon in a statement here yesterday.
He added that taking a cue about this arbitration award, the GPS-led government should not wait further to take legal action in court to sue the federal government or even the UK for breaches of terms and conditions in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“A failure to do so should be seen by Sarawakians as an inability by the GPS government to protect Sarawak rights.
“The fact that the federal government and the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak had formed steering committees to deliberate and overcome the breaches leading to recent amendments to the Federal Constitution, is a clear admission or acknowledgement by the federal, Sarawak and Sabah governments of the breaches of the terms and conditions of MA63,” he said.
He said for the record, Sarawak and Sabah were once colonies of the UK, and Malaya became the successor of the UK after Sarawak and Sabah were handed to Malaya to enlarge her territories to form Malaysia.
“This should be used by the Sarawak government to make the federal government of Malaysia liable for damages, loss of revenues, oil and gas and all other rights that Sarawak had suffered caused by the breaches.
“It is also a good ground for the GPS government to demand freedom and independence from the Federation because most Sarawakians want independence now,” he said.
According to a news portal (Malaysia Chronicle), the Malaysian government has reportedly been instructed to pay at least US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) to the descendants of the last Sulu Sultan.
It said that this was due to a violation of the 1878 agreement signed by Sultan Jamal Al Alam, Baron de Overbeck and the British North Borneo Company’s Alfred Dent.
It also said that Malaysia had stopped paying Sultan Sulu’s heirs their annual RM5,300 cession money since 2013 following the Lahad Datu armed incursion. — Borneo Post
