KOTA KINABALU, March 10 — Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor said the state government strongly rejects any claim on Sabah that is akin to questioning the state’s sovereignty in the Federation of Malaysia.
Echoing the federal government’s strong stand not to entertain the latest claim by a group calling themselves the United Tausug Citizens (UTC), Hajiji said Sabah also has the backing of the global community on this matter.
He stressed again that Sabahans have chosen to jointly form the Malaysia Federation through the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) therefore, any external claims against the state of Sabah will not be recognised by the state government or the people.
Even the claim by the heir of the defunct Sulu Sultanate ended with the imprisonment of the arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa, he said.
The chief minister said the claim by UTC or any group on Sabah is nothing but a frivolous attempt to disrupt the state’s peace and it is tantamount to threatening the sovereignty of the nation.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said yesterday said Malaysia rejects the frivolous statement by the self-styled UTC group which claims to be the “rightful custodians of the Sultanate of Sulu Territory” over Sabah.
Azalina said UTC had requested the Malaysian government for immediate payment of US$15 billion (RM70 billion) in what they dubbed as “Cession Money” and sought recognition of UTC as “a sovereign and independent State Kingdom” as well as threatening to commence legal action against Malaysia in the United States.
“This represents the latest frivolous and baseless attempt by a group to claim sovereignty over Malaysian territory and to extort unfounded payments from Malaysia,” she said in a statement. — The Borneo Post
