Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor welcomed the Paris Court of Appeal’s decision to annul the US$14.9 billion (RM54b) “Final Award” previously granted to self-proclaimed Sulu claimants, describing it as a decisive ruling and a major victory for Malaysia.
Hajiji said Sabah has consistently maintained that the claim was baseless and would not be entertained under any circumstances.
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“I have stated before, we will defend Sabah’s sovereignty within the Federation of Malaysia, and we will never entertain such claims.
“The decision of the Paris Court of Appeal once again vindicated Sabah’s stand all this while,” he said in response to a statement issued by the Sulu Special Secretariat War Room on behalf of the Malaysian Government on Thursday.
The Paris Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday (Dec 9) that arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa had acted without jurisdiction and that no valid arbitration agreement existed that could bind Malaysia, effectively nullifying the multibillion-dollar award.
The State Government reaffirmed that it will continue collaborating closely with the Federal Government to quash any future attempts to revive similar claims.
“We also express our gratitude to the Federal Government for their hard work in defending Sabah’s sovereignty,” Hajiji said.
In February 2022, eight individuals claiming to be descendants of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, of the defunct Sultanate of Sulu, obtained a purported final award of US$14.92bil in an arbitration proceeding against the Malaysian government.
The Paris Court annulled in full the purported “Final Award” issued by arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa on Feb 28, 2022, and has ordered the so-called Sulu claimants to pay €200,000 (RM957,140) in costs to Malaysia.
It said Stampa had no jurisdiction to issue the purported award, as there was no valid arbitration agreement binding Malaysia.
As a result, the court annulled the purported ‘Final Award’ in its entirety. Malaysia trusts this victory will put an end to the baseless attempts by the so-called Sulu claimants (and their litigation funder) to extort money and assets from the people of Malaysia.
On June 6, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal had already refused recognition and enforcement of Stampa’s purported “Partial Award” issued on May 25, 2020 on the same grounds.
Subsequently on Nov 6, 2024, the French Supreme Court dismissed in full the challenge filed by the claimants against the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal.
