By : RANDY DAVID
THERE is more to the ongoing
standoff between Malaysian forces and some 300 armed men holed up in a coastal
village in Sabah than meets the eye. The
latter are Filipino nationals, though they identify themselves as members of
the 'Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.'
They have announced that
they sailed to Sabah to reclaim their rightful homeland. Heaven forbid that any harm should befall
them. For, that will play right into the
hands of those who, for some reason or other, wish to derail the current peace
effort in Mindanao and foment a rift between Malaysia and the Philippines.
The relations between the
two countries have significantly improved after Malaysia began hosting the
peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front. Malaysia has a clear
interest in the political stabilization of neighboring Muslim Mindanao.
In the past, Muslim rebels
routinely sought sanctuary in Malaysian territory, and their presence there not
only strained relations with the Philippines but also posed the danger of
locally spreading a politicized Islam.
Of course, beyond all this,
the Malaysian investment in goodwill, properly acknowledged as a Filipino debt
of gratitude, serves to undercut any move to activate a long-standing irritant
in the relations of the two countries.
The Sultan’s heirs have been
pressing the Philippine government to actively pursue its sovereign claim to
Sabah. Keeping the issue alive will
greatly bolster their demand to be justly compensated as the rightful private
owners of the territory.
The Philippine claim is
solely anchored on the property rights asserted by the descendants of the
Sultan of Sulu. This claim was formally advanced by President Diosdado
Macapagal in 1962.
That was the year before the
British formally relinquished their colonial hold on Malaya, North Borneo,
Sarawak, and the straits settlements (including Singapore), paving the way for
the establishment of Malaysia as an independent state. Singapore subsequently
left the Malaysian federation.
'North Borneo,' writes the
historian Onofre D. Corpuz, “was crucial to the new Malaysia; without it, the
latter would have an overriding Chinese majority in its population, because
Singapore was to be part of Malaysia.
(Sender's comment: The
comment in bold may be incorrect as the original 'racial balance' argument
included the Bruenian Malays as counter balance to the Chinese. Surely a most
bizarre reason for forming a new country!)
The United Kingdom, the
United States, and Japan had interests in the new state based on global
strategic considerations. The claim
would be pursued, if at all, in diplomatic isolation. The future of the Philippine claim, into the
1980s, was not bright.
Sure enough, the keen desire
of the Philippine government to forge strong regional ties with its major
Southeast Asian neighbors thereafter consigned the issue to the margins of
Philippine foreign policy.
It has been a long time
since the Sabah claim has been openly discussed in the media or, even less,
officially taken up by any administration.
Yet, no Philippine president
has dared to categorically renounce the country’s claim to this territory. The
young generation of Filipinos, who are unaware of the historic claim of the
heirs of the Sultan of Sulu, may thus be forgiven if they perceive the group of
Sultan Jamalul Kiram III as no different from those syndicates who now and then
invade expensive real estate in Metro Manila waving fictitious royal
titles.
But, this particular claim
is by no means founded on fantasy.
North Borneo was acquired by
the Sultanate of Sulu sometime in the 17th century as a gift from the Sultan of
Brunei, in appreciation for the former’s help in successfully quelling a local
rebellion against the latter’s rule. In 1878, the Sultanate of Sulu agreed to
lease the property to a British company.
Malaysia argues that in
1885, Spain renounced all claims of sovereignty over the whole of Borneo, in
exchange for British recognition of Spanish sovereignty over the entire Sulu
archipelago. Its lawyers contend,
moreover, that the Sultanate of Sulu ended in 1936 following the death of the
last Sultan.
Yet, since its formation in
1963, the Malaysian state has thought it proper to hand over every year to the
lawyers of the descendants of the Sultan of Sulu a check for 5,300 Malaysian
ringgit (about P70,000 at the current exchange rate).
Before that, except for the
period between 1936 and 1950, the payment was made by the British North Borneo
Co., in accordance with the terms of a lease agreement between the British
company and the heirs of the Sultan.
Today, Malaysia calls the token payment “cession,” meaning payment made
in exchange for the ceding of property rights.
The Sultan’s descendants,
however, continue to refer to it as “rent,” for obvious reasons. Regardless,
the amount is ridiculous. The territory
in question covers approximately 30,000 square miles.
The Sultan’s heirs have a
pending petition with the United Nations for the return of Sabah to the
family. This may be a way of compelling
Malaysia to pay a substantially higher rent, or an offer to quit all claims in
exchange for a huge payment.
But, it is also possible
that Malaysia intends to stop paying altogether in order to put to rest any
doubt about Malaysian sovereignty over Sabah. Unfortunately, the UN has not
acted on the petition.
The 'invasion' led by the
brother of the current Sultan is clearly an attempt to shove the issue into the
faces of the two governments, neither of which relishes being dictated upon by
the heirs of an archaic sultanate.
Still, both governments must
realize that they have an interest in ending this standoff without firing a
single shot. A messy end to this impasse could stoke ethnic resentments and
needlessly inflame nationalist sentiments. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
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