No first class natives, says Liew

KOTA KINABALU: There is no such classification of Suluks being First Class natives in the State or Federal Constitution, said De facto Law Minister Datuk VK Liew (pic). He was debunking a viral video making such claim by self-proclaimed “Sultan of Sulu” in Sabah, Datu Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad.

“No, there is no such classification,” he said, adding that as far as he is concerned even the Sulu Sultanate ceased to exist once the Philippines became a republic. After it was known as a republic, there is no more such term as Sultanate. Similar things happened in our country with the Malacca Sultanate. Presently our country only has nine Sultans for states in the peninsula, except for Penang and Malacca together with Sabah and Sarawak which have Head of State.

“We must always remember that the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the country so all the state constitutions will be subject to it. This is the recognition that has been agreed upon before Malaysia was formed in 1963. People can say whatever they like but the fact is Malaysia is a Federation and Sabah is part of the Federation,” he said.

Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Vice Chairman Kenny Chua called for a thorough investigation into the YouTube video where Akjan claimed that Suluks are classified as First Class natives in the State Constitution.

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Chua said the claims made by Akjan were dangerous as they were tantamount to inciting racial hatred in Sabah.

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In the video, Akjan is heard telling the group that the Suluk followed by the Bajau Ubian, Sibutu Simunul and Kagayan are First Class natives according to the Sabah Constitution, whereas nothing is mentioned about the Kadazan and Dusun.

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