Sabah’s existential threats
Published on: Sunday, March 13, 2022
By: Datuk John Lo
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Who knows what beholds, what’s in for Sabah in the future? These nonsensical theatricals have gone on long enough. It is time for all Sabahan YBs in government and opposition to follow up with a support statement for Hajiji’s earlier one on this matter.
This is not a-partisan issue. It is an all-Sabahan question. Sabah must send out a strong, unequivocal response that all Sabahans are united as one, that we are an independent, sovereign people. We do not entertain these and any frivolous claims on our Sabah.
We Sabahans are not human chattels [meaning: enslaved people], nor is our Sabah just a piece of real estate whose ownership can be claimed, sold or disputed. This is the 21st century, people are free to choose their destiny.
The 1800s when the lease agreement was signed, are light years in history.
Sabahans can justly ask where are all the YBs pertaining to these claims? Why the dead silence from them? Does their silence mean they agree or support these claims? Sabahans want them to reject these claims as the elected representatives. They should make their stand known to The Philippines Government and the Suluk Pretenders.
The Filipino and Suluk claims on Sabah.
Ever since the formation of Malaysia, The Filipino Government and some Suluk claimant successors to the decade-long defunct Suluk Sultanate which had a so-called lease agreement with some colonisers have been making claims on Sabah on and off.
The fact is simply this – whatever had happened in the 1800s is water under the bridge. As far as Sabahans are concerned we are a free people, have formed Malaysia, an independent sovereign state, recognised by UN. Both The Filipino Government and the claimants are irritant pretenders.
Hajiji and Pandikar have refuted the claims.
Hajiji’s statements are: [a] The Sabah government will never recognise the so-called “Sulu Sultanate” heirs’ claim over the state. [b] Hajiji said Sabah had never recognised this claim as Sabah is a sovereign state within the Federation of Malaysia.
In light of the latest development, Pandikar said Sabah’s political leaders had to unite and put the interests of the people above all else. “This is the time for leaders, regardless of political or ideological differences, to unite and defend Sabah,” he said.
The Malaysian Government has also filed a criminal complaint against the Spanish arbitrator.
Like Hajiji and Pandikar, the YBs are duty-bound to act to defend Sabah from these claims.
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/sabah-will-never-recognise-sulu-sultanate-heirs-claim-says-chief-minister
https://www.google.com/search?q=Pandikar+amin+suluk+claim&rlz=1C1CHBF_enMY728MY728&sxsrf=APq-WBvIFmN5JGQG2dJaaiVN9DO
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/03/10/criminal-complaint-filed-against-spanish-arbitrator-who-awarded-rm6259bil-to-sulu-sultanate-claimants- says-wan-junaidi
Recent arbitration meaningless.
It is meaningless for the simple reason that for an arbitration to be valid, according to international practice, the two parties must [a] agree to arbitrate, [b] the party to be the arbitrator. Malaysia and Sabah did not agree to anything. The arbitration in the Franch Court is of no effect. This is same with the Filipino case against China over the South China Sea.
Hajiji is correct to reject the Suluk claim.
Sabah must NOT become part of The Philippines.
Those who have visited Southern Philippines will know the reason. The Philippines is basically divided into 2 economic parts, the relatively prosperous Luzon north and the very poor, neglected Mindanao south. The disparity in development is ten or more times worse than between Sabah and W Malaysia.
God forbids, if Sabah becomes part of The Philippines, we will be the 3rd part of The Philippines, behind Mindanao. The Luzon elite will grab everything in Sabah and we will be worse off than Mindanao. The life as we know it now will soon disappear like smoke.
For more than 40 years, the Mindanao people have been economic refugees in Sabah. If ever Sabah becomes part of The Philippines, where can we go as economic refugees?
All political leaders MUST state their stand on the claims.
Sabahans cannot remain passive about these complaints as this is tantamount to sending the wrong signals. We must not take things lying down in this matter.
It is imperative that all the YBs assemble in front of the Sabah Legislative Assembly Building which is the seat of Sabah’s democracy, the symbol of Sabah’s independence and denounce and reject The Filipino and Suluk claims as soon as possible. It is the least they can do to demonstrate their commitments.
Any YB unwilling to do so, his loyalty to Sabah is questionable.
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