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University of Perpetual Help System-DALTA
College of Law
FOREWORD
Philippines maintains a dormant claim over the sovereignty of
eastern Sabah based on the claim that in 1658 the Sultan of Brunei
had ceded the northeast portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu; and
that later in 1878, an agreement was signed by the Sultan of Sulu
granting the North Borneo Chartered Company a permanent lease
over the territory. Malaysia considered this dispute as a "non-issue",
as there is no desire from the actual people of Sabah to be part of the
Philippines or of the Sultanate of Sulu. As reported by the Secretary-
General of the United Nations, the independence of North Borneo
was brought about as the result of the expressed wish of the majority
of the people of the territory in a 1963 election.
This research will determine whether or not Philippines have
proprietary rights over Sabah.
Jennylyn B. Albano
UPHSD- College of Law
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INTRODUCTION
This research will focus on the History of Sabah and
determination of whether who really owns it.
As we all know even before our ancestors are already fighting
for our right over this state however, up until now dispute is still on
going.
Sabah is one of the 13 member states of Malaysia, and is its
easternmost state. It is located on the northern portion of the island of
Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak,
which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the
province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south. The capital of
Sabah is Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton. Sabah is often
referred to as "The Land Below The Wind", a phrase used by
seafarers in the past to describe lands south of the typhoon belt.
Philippines maintains a dormant claim over the sovereignty of
eastern Sabah based on the claim that in 1658 the Sultan of Brunei
had ceded the northeast portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu; and
that later in 1878, an agreement was signed by the Sultan of Sulu
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granting the North Borneo Chartered Company a permanent lease
over the territory.
Malaysia considered this dispute as a "non-issue", as there is
no desire from the actual people of Sabah to be part of the
Philippines or of the Sultanate of Sulu. As reported by the Secretary-
General of the United Nations, the independence of North Borneo
was brought about as the result of the expressed wish of the majority
of the people of the territory in a 1963 election.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
The history of Sabah can be traced back to about 20,000
30,000 years ago when evidence suggests the earliest human
settlement in the region existed. The history is interwoven with the
history of Brunei and the history of Malaysia, to which Sabah was
previously part of and is currently part of respectively. The earliest
recorded history of Sabah being part of any organised civilisation
began in the early 16th century during the thriving era of the
Sultanate of Brunei. Prior to this, early inhabitants of the land lived in
predominantly tribal societies, although such tribal societies had
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continued to exist until the 1900s. The eastern part of Sabah was
ceded to the Sultan of Sulu by the Sultan of Brunei in 1658 for the
former helping a victory over Brunei enemies. By the late 19th
century, both territories previously owned by Sultan of Brunei and
Sultan of Sulu was granted to British syndicate. Sabah became a
protectorate of the United Kingdom in 1888 and subsequently
became a crown colony until 1963, during which time it was known as
North Borneo. On September 16, 1963, Sabah merged with Malaya,
Sarawak and Singapore (left in 1965) to form the Federation of
Malaysia.
Prehistoric Sabah
During the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago,
Sabah and the rest of Borneo island was connected to mainland Asia
in a landmass known as the Sundaland. Subsequent deglaciation,
which caused global sea level to rise, resulted in the Sundaland being
submerged, separating Borneo from the rest of Asia.
Earliest human settlement in the region is believed to have
dated back about 20,00030,000 years ago. These early humans are
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believed to be Australoid or Negrito people. Stone tools and artifacts
have been found in Madai and Baturong caves and in the
archeological site in Lake Tingkayu near the district of Kunak which
were estimated to date back from 28,00017,000 years ago. The
tools found there were considered advanced for its period.[2] There
was evidence of human cave-dwellings around 15,0006,000 years
ago.
An ongoing 2012 study by Universiti Sains Malaysia and Sabah
Museum revealed the discovery of stone tools in Mansuli Valley
nearLahad Datu believed to be 235,000 years old and in another site
in Kampung Lipasu, Bingkor believed to be at least 200,000 years
old.[4] These recent findings suggests that human settlement in
Sabah and Malaysia have existed much earlier than previously
thought, which is about 40,000 years ago in Niah Caves, Sarawak.
The earliest ascertained wave of human migration, believed to
be Austronesian Mongoloids, occurred around 3000 BC. This wave of
migration is believed to represent the time when the indigenous hill
people of present day Sabah had first arrived, namely the Murut and
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the Kadazan-Dusun, while Brunei Malays settlement appeared
somewhat later.It is believed that some Australoid or Negrito people
have interbred with later Mongoloid migrants and remained in
Borneo, while others have migrated to other places such as
Melanesia, the Lesser Sunda Islands or Australia.
The theory that Austronesians in Southeast Asia arrived from
China through Taiwan has been challenged by Stephen
Oppenheimer who suggested that many cultures including the people
of China and India might have actually originated from Sundaland. A
new finding based on DNA research in 2008 supported
Oppenheimer's theory that migration flow might have been radiated
out from Sundaland sometime around 15,000 to 7,000 years ago
following the submergence of Sundaland due to rise in sea level. The
findings of Stephen Oppenheimer was doubted. The poor cultures of
sunderland do not support his theory that the people of China and
India might have actually originated from Sundaland. It was the
Austronesians in Southeast Asia arrived from China through Taiwan.
As for the case of Sabah, the Dusun or the Muruts cultures are less
than 200 years old.
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Pre-16th century
Prior to the expansion of the Sultanate of Brunei most of the
coastal region of Borneo has been either ruled or claimed as part of
various Hindu communities or kingdoms from around Southeast Asia.
However it is uncertain whether the influence of these kingdoms had
ever reached the coasts of present-day Sabah.
During the 7th century CE, a settled community known as
Vijayapura, a tributary to the Srivijaya empire, was thought to have
been the earliest beneficiary to the Bruneian Empire existing around
the northeast coast of Borneo.
Another kingdom which was suspected to have existed
according to Chinese records beginning the 9th century was P'o-ni. It
was believed that Po-ni existed at the mouth of Brunei River and was
the predecessor to the Sultanate of Brunei.
The Brunei Annals in 1410 mentioned about a Chinese
settlement or province centering in the Kinabatangan Valley in the
east coast surrounding Kinabatangan River founded by a man known
as Huang Senping. This is consistent with the recent discovery of
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timbercoffins in the Agop Batu Tulug cave in the Kinabatangan
Valley. The coffins, adorned with carvings believed to resemble
similar cultural practices in China and Vietnam, are believed to date
back from around 700 to 1,000 years ago (11th to 14th century).
From the 14th to the 16th century, the Majapahit empire
expanded its influence towards Brunei and most of the coastal region
of Borneo. Sometime around the late 15th to 18th century, the
seafaring Bajau-Suluk people arrived from the Sulu archipelago and
had settled on the coasts of Sabah. It is believed that they were
fleeing from the oppression of the Spanish colonist in that region.
Sultanate of Brunei
The Sultanate of Brunei began after the ruler of Brunei
embraced Islam. Some sources indicate that this had occurred
around 1365 CE after the ruler, Awang Alak Betatar, converted into
Islam and became known as Muhammad Shah. Other sources
suggests that the conversion occurred much later around 1514 to
1521 CE, albeit, under the same person. During the same period,
trade relations flourished, and intermarriages among the natives and
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Chinese, Japanese, Arab, and Hindu peoples became commonplace.
The intermixing of blood resulted in a distinct breed of Palaweos,
both in physical stature and features.
During the reign of the fifth sultan known as Bolkiah between
14851524, the Sultanate's thalassocracy extended over Sabah,
Sulu Archipelago and Manila in the north, and Sarawak until
Banjarmasin in the south. This was during the period when the
Sultanate was in its 'golden era'.
In 1658, the Sultan of Brunei ceded the northern and eastern
portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu in compensation for the latter's
help in settling the Brunei Civil War in the Brunei Sultanate. The
Sultan of Brunei continued to loosely govern the west coast of Sabah.
Many Brunei Malays migrated to this region during this period,
although the migration has begun as early as the 15th century after
the Brunei conquest of the territory. In 1749, the Sultanate of Borneo
ceded southern Palawan to Spain. Within late 1700s, Sultanate of
Sulu gave up the rest of its territories to Spain.
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North Borneo
In 1761, Alexander Dalrymple, an officer of the British East
India Company, concluded an agreement with the Sultan of Sulu to
allow him to set up a trading post in the region. This plan, together
with other attempts to build a settlement and a military station
centering around Pulau Balambangan, proved to be a failure. A map
by Dalrymple of North Borneo is exhibited in the National Museum of
Scotland. There was minimal foreign interest in this region afterward
and control over most parts of north Borneo seems to have remained
loosely under the Sultanate of Brunei.
In 1846, the island of Labuan on the west coast of Sabah was
ceded to Britain by the Sultan of Brunei and in 1848 it became a
British Crown Colony. Labuan became a base for British operations
against piracy in the region.
The first recorded ascent to the highest peak of Mount Kinabalu
was made in 1851 by Hugh Low. In 1964, the region was designated
as Kinabalu National Park and it was declared a World Heritage Site
in 2000.
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The first recorded ascent of Mount Kinabalu, the highest
mountain in Borneo, was made in 1851 by British Malaya colonial
administrator and naturalist Hugh Low. The highest peak and the
deep gully of the mountain was later named after him.
In 1865 the American Consul General of Brunei, Charles Lee
Moses, obtained a 10-year lease over North Borneo from the Sultan
of Brunei Abdul Momin. Ownership was then passed to an American
trading company owned by Joseph William Torrey, Thomas Bradley
Harris, and some Chinese merchants. They set up a base and
settlement inKimanis and the Sultan of Brunei appointed Torrey as
"The Rajah of Ambong and Marudu". His fortress "Ellena" was
located in Kimanis with hundreds of Iban trackers led by Lingkanad.
Torrey returned to America in 1877 and died near Boston,
Massachusetts, in March 1884. The rights of the trading company
were then sold to Gustav Baron Von Overbeck, the Austro-Hungarian
Consul in Hong Kong (though he was actually a German national),
and he later obtained another 10-year renewal of the lease. The
lease was subsequently converted into a cession via a treaty which
was signed by the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Momin. In the treaty, the
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Sultan appointed Overbeck as "Maharajah of Sabah and Rajah of
Gaya and Sandakan." The treaty granted Overbeck the right over
whole region of Sabah, including parts purporting to be the dominion
of the Sulu Sultanate including Sandakan and Tawau. The treaty was
signed on December 29, 1877 at the Brunei Palace.
On the east coast of North Borneo near Sandakan, William
Cowie, on behalf of Dent's company, negotiated and obtained a lease
in perpetuity from the Sultan of Sulu over its holdings in this region in
1878. This lease was signed on January 22, 1878 in the palace of the
Sultan of Sulu.[21] The lease would later be the subject of dispute by
the modern republic of Philippines regarding the sovereignty of the
state of Sabah. The rights were subsequently transferred to Alfred
Dent, who in 1881 formed the British North Borneo Provisional
Association Ltd. In 1881, the British government granted the British
North Borneo Company a royal charter. William Hood Treacher was
appointed the first British Governor of North Borneo.
In the following year, the British North Borneo Company was
formed and Kudat was made its capital. Beginning 1882, the
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Company brought in Chinese people mainly Hakkas from Guangdong
province to work as labourers in plantation farms. Most of the
migrants settled in Kudat and Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu).
In 1883 the capital was moved to Sandakan to capitalise on its
potential of vast timber resources. In 1885, United Kingdom, Spain
and Germany signed the Madrid Protocol of 1885. The purpose of the
protocol was to recognise the sovereignty of Spain in the Sulu
Archipelago and also for Spain to relinquish all claims it might have
had over North Borneo.
In 1888 North Borneo became a protectorate of the United
Kingdom. Administration and control over North Borneo remained in
the hands of the Company despite being a protectorate and they
effectively ruled until 1942. Their rule had been generally peaceful
except for some rebellions, including one led by the Bajau-Suluk
leader Mat Salleh from 1894 to 1900, and another led by Antanum of
theMuruts known as the Rundum resistance in 1915.Beginning 1920,
more Chinese migrants arrived from the provinces of
Guangdong,Fujian and even Hebei after the British changed its
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immigration policy to stimulate the stagnant economy during that
period.[26] There was also Javanese migration into Sabah beginning
1891 and subsequent recruitment of laborers by the British from 1907
onwards. Other significant migrants from present-day Indonesia into
Sabah consists of the Bugis people beginning 1890s and the
Florenese people from Flores beginning early 1950s.
The First Natives Paramount Leader was Pehin Orang Kaya-
Kaya Koroh bin Santulan of Keningau "The father of former Sabah
State Minister Tan Sri Stephen (Suffian) Koroh, and Sabah's fifth
State Governor Tun Thomas (Ahmad) Koroh (the elder brother of
Suffian)".Santulan which also a Pengeran, the father to Pehin Orang
Kaya-Kaya Koroh was a Murut descendant of Hashim Jalilul Alam
Aqamaddin, the 25th Sultan of Brunei.
WORLD WAR II
As part of the Second World War Japanese forces landed
in Labuan on January 1, 1942, and continued to invade the rest of
North Borneo. From 1942 to 1945, Japanese forces occupied North
Borneo, along with most of the island. Bombings by the allied forces
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devastated most towns including Sandakan, which was razed to the
ground. Resistance against Japanese occupation was concentrated
on the west and north coast of North Borneo. The resistance in
Jesselton was led by Albert Kwok and Jules Stephens of the Kinabalu
Guerillas. Another resistance was led by Panglima Alli from Sulug
Island, off the coast of Jesselton. In Kudat, there was also some
resistance led by Tun Datu Mustapha. On October 10, 1943, the
Kinabalu Guerrillas together with followers of Panglima Alli staged a
surprise attack on the Japanese. The attack however was foiled. The
324 local residents who participated in the attacks, including Albert
Kwok and Panglima Alli, were detained in Petagas and later executed
on January 21, 1944. The site of the execution is today known as the
Petagas War Memorial.
In Keningau during World War II, Korom was a rebel and some
said he was a Sergeant with the North Borneo Armed Constabulary.
It was claimed that he spied for the Allied Forces by pretending to be
working for the Japanese. He provided intelligence on Japanese
positions and some credited him with the escape of 500 Allied POWs.
Fighting alongside with Korom in his platoon was Garukon, Lumanib,
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Kingan, Mikat, Pensyl, Gampak, Abdullah Hashim, Ariff Salleh,
Langkab, Polos, Nuing, Ambutit, Lakai, Badau and many more
including the Chinese.
In Sandakan there was once a brutal POW camp run by the
Japanese for British and Australian POWs from North Borneo. The
prisoners suffered in agony in their first year of captivity under
notoriously inhuman conditions, but much worse was to come
through the forced marches of January, March and June 1945 (refer
to Sandakan Memorial Park WWII POW Museum Records). Allied
bombardments caused the Japanese to relocate the POW camp to
inland Ranau, 260 km away. All the prisoners, who by then were
reduced to 2504 in number, were to be moved, but instead of
transport, were forced to march the infamous Sandakan Death
March. Sickness, disease, exhaustion, thirst, hunger, whipping, and
shooting killed most of the prisoners, except for six Australians who
successfully escaped, were never caught, and survived to tell the
horrific story of the death march. The fallen of this march are
commemorated each year on Anzac Day (Memorial Day) in Australia
and in Sandakan, at the original POW campsite where a POW hut
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style museum and a black marble memorial obelisk monument are
nestled in a peaceful park setting with a lily pond.
The war ended with the official surrender by Lieutenant-General
Baba Masao of the 37th Japanese Army in Labuan on September 10,
1945. After the surrender, North Borneo was administered by the
British Military Administration and in 1946 it became a British Crown
Colony. Jesselton replaced Sandakan as the capital and the Crown
continued to rule North Borneo until 1963.
Independence and formation of Malaysia
On August 31, 1963 North Borneo attained self-government.
The idea for the formation of a union of the former British colonies,
namely, Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo was mooted
as early as in late 19th century, but it was Tunku Abdul Rahman who
officially announced the proposal of wider federation in May 1961. It
also seemed that this idea was supported by the British.[31] There
was a call for complete independence on that date by it was denied
by the British Governor who remained in power until Malaysia
Day.[32] In 1962, the Cobbold Commission was set up to determine
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whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak favoured the proposed
union. The Commission had found that the union was generally
favoured by the people but wanted certain terms and conditions
incorporated to safeguard the interest of the people. The Commission
had also noted some opposition from the people but decided that
such opposition was minor. The Commission published its report on
August 1, 1962 and had made several recommendations. Unlike in
Singapore, however, no referendum was ever conducted in Sabah.
Most ethnic community leaders of Sabah, namely, Tun
Mustapha representing the Muslims, Tun Fuad Stephens
representing the non-Muslim natives, and Khoo Siak Chew
representing the Chinese, would eventually support the formation. An
agreement was signed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Harold MacMillan,
the British Prime Minister, and William Goode, the last Governor of
North Borneo, signed on behalf of the territory on August 1, 1962
putting to paper the agreement to form the union.
The intention had been to form Malaysia on 31 August 1963 but
due to objections from the Philippines and Indonesia, the formation
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had to be postponed to 16 September 1963. At that point North
Borneo, as Sabah, was united with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore,
to form the independent the Federation of Malaysia. To safeguard the
interest of North Borneo in the new federation, a 20-point agreement
was entered into between the federal and the state government.
Konfrontasi and the Brunei Revolt
Leading up to the formation of Malaysia until 1966, Indonesia
adopted a hostile policy towards Malaya and subsequently Malaysia,
which was backed by British forces. This undeclared war stems from
what Indonesian President Sukarno perceive as an expansion of
British influence in the region and his intention to wrest control over
the whole of Borneo under the Indonesian republic.
Around the same time, there were proposals from certain
parties, particularly by the Brunei People's Party, for the formation of
a North Borneo Federation consisting of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.
The proposal culminated in rebel attacks in Brunei and some parts of
Sabah and Sarawak. The rebellion was foiled by the Bruneian Army
with the help of the British colonials in December 1962.
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Philippine claim
Philippines maintains a dormant claim over the sovereignty of
eastern Sabah based on the claim that in 1658 the Sultan of Brunei
had ceded the northeast portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu; and
that later in 1878, an agreement was signed by the Sultan of Sulu
granting the North Borneo Chartered Company a permanent lease
over the territory.
Malaysia considered this dispute as a "non-issue", as there is
no desire from the actual people of Sabah to be part of the
Philippines or of the Sultanate of Sulu. As reported by the Secretary-
General of the United Nations, the independence of North Borneo
was brought about as the result of the expressed wish of the majority
of the people of the territory in a 1963 election.
Post-independence
Tun Fuad Stephens became the first chief minister of Sabah.
The first Governor (Yang di-Pertuan Negeri) was Tun Mustapha.
Sabah held its first state election in 1967. Until 2008, a total of 11
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state elections has been held. Sabah has had 13 different chief
ministersand 9 different Yang di-Pertua Negeri as of 2009.
Tun Mustapha became the 3rd chief minister following the first
state election. Beginning 1970, Filipino refugees from the
Mindanaobegan arriving in Sabah as a result of the Moro insurgency
taking place in that region.
On June 6, 1976, after only 44 days being elected for the
second time as chief minister, Tun Fuad Stephens together with other
state cabinet ministers died in a fatal plane crash known as the
Double Six Tragedy. He was replaced by Harris Salleh. On June 14,
1976, the government of Sabah signed an agreement with Petronas,
the federal government-owned oil and gas company, granting it the
right to extract and earn revenue from petroleum found in the
territorial waters of Sabah in exchange for 5% in annual revenue as
royalties.
Under the leadership of Harris Salleh, the state government of
Sabah ceded the island of Labuan and its 6 smaller islands to the
Malaysian federal government and it was declared a federal territory
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on April 16, 1984. Kota Kinabalu in 2008. It became the first city in
the state in 2000 and has become not only the administrative capital
but also the economic and transportation hub of the region.
In 1985, following the state elections, Pairin Kitingan of Parti
Bersatu Sabah(PBS) became the seventh chief minister and this
marked the second time in Malaysia where a party not affiliated with
the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) or its predecessor,
the Alliance Party, formed government in any state (preceded by
Gerakan in Penang in 1969 and followed by PAS in Kelantan in
1990). In 1986, opponents of the newly elected PBS government
started riots around the state, mainly in the cities of Kota Kinabalu,
Tawauand Sandakan, resulting in bombings and five fatalities. Peace
was gradually restored following a snap election in 1986 which
consolidated PBS' position as the ruling state government.
From 1990 to 1991, several PBS politicians were arrested
under the Internal Security Act for allegedly being involved in plans to
secede Sabah from the Malaysian Federation and detained for two
years. Among those arrested wereJeffrey Kitingan and Maximus
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Ongkili. Other politicians, including Pairin, were hit with corruption
charges. The arrests and charges were suspected to be politically
motivated.
Following the 1994 state election, Barisan Nasional regained
control of the state via the creation of the Sabah chapter of the United
Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party and other parties. The
rotation system was introduced by the then prime minister Mahathir
Mohamad in which the chief ministerial post would be rotated every
two years among the three main communities in Sabah, namely, the
Muslim Bumiputeras, non-Muslim Bumiputeras and the Chinese.
Sakaran Dandai became the first chief minister under this system in
1994. The rotation system was finally abolished in 2005 with current
chief minister Musa Aman at the helm.
On December 26, 1996, Sabah was hit by one of the worst
tropical storm known as Tropical Storm Greg. The storm hit the
western coast of the state resulting in over 200 deaths and thousands
of home destroyed.
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In 2000, the state capital Kota Kinabalu was granted city status,
making it the 6th city in Malaysia and the first city in the state. Also
this year, Kinabalu National Park was officially designated by
UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, making it the first site in the
country to be given such designation.
On May 3, 2000, the Abu Sayyaf militant group from southern
Philippines arrived on the resort island of Sipadan and kidnapped 21
people consisting of tourists and resort workers for ransom. Most
hostages were rescued on September 16, 2000 following an
offensive by the Philippine army.
In 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled that the islands
of Sipadan and Ligitan, claimed by Indonesia, are part of Sabah and
Malaysia.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In order to determine who have the most right over Sabah, the
researcher looked for the history of Sabah and some articles
pertaining to the claim of Philippines in Malaysia in the said territory
since the time in memorial. Since the aim of this research is to prove
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whether who the rightful owner is, it also includes the contention of
each country involved in the dispute.
CONCLUSION
Sabah has seen several territorial disputes with Malaysia's
neighbours Indonesia and the Philippines. In 2002 both Malaysia and
Indonesia submitted to arbitration by the International Court of Justice
on a territorial dispute over the Sipadan and Ligitan islands. There
are also several overlapping claims over the Ambalat continental
shelf in the Celebes (Sulawesi) Sea. Malaysia's claim over a portion
of the Spratly Islands is also based on sharing a continental shelf with
Sabah & Sarawak.
The Philippines has a territorial claim over much of the eastern
part of Sabah, the former North Borneo. It claims that the territory, via
the heritage of the Sultanate of Sulu, was onlyleased to the North
Borneo Chartered Company in 1878 with the Sultanate's sovereignty
never being relinquished. Malaysia however, considers this dispute
as a "non-issue," as it believes that the 1878 document was a
cession agreement, and that it deems that the residents of Sabah had
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exercised their right of self-determination when they voted to join the
Malaysian federation in 1963.
THE LEASE STARTED IT ALL
The Sultanate of Sulu was granted the territory as a prize for
helping the Sultan of Brunei against his enemies and from then on
that part of Borneo is recognized as part of the Sultan of Sulu's
sovereignty. In 1878, Baron Von Overbeck, an Austrian partner
representing The British North Borneo Co. and his partner British
Alfred Dent, leased the territory known as "Sabah" - roughly
translated as "the land beneath the winds". In return the company will
provide arms to the Sultan to resist the spaniards and 5,000
Malaysian ringgits annual rental based on the Mexican dollars value
at that time or its equivalent in gold. This lease have been continued
until the independence and formation of the Malaysian federation in
1963 together with Singapore, Sarawak and Malaysia. Up to these
days, the Malaysians have been continuing the rental payment of
5,300 Malaysian ringgits - a 300 ringgits increased from original rent.
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In 1962 during the Pres. Diosdado Macapagal's administration
(the father of the present president, Glorio Arroyo), the Philippines
formally claimed Sabah based on the Sultanate of Sulu heirs' claim
on the territory. The Philippines broke diplomatic relations with
Malaysia after the federation have included "Sabah". The sultan's
heirs have given the Philippine government the authority to pursue
the claim legally in international courts. However, the succeeding
administrations have either have ignored or set aside the claim for
peaceful co-existent and trade relation with the Malaysians.
One significant incident involving then President Marcos have
briefly brought into limelight the Sabah claim once more. In 1972, the
Marcos government have been training secretly a group of Muslim
Filipinos in Corregidor, an island off Manila Bay, for possible intrusion
in Sabah to pave the way to an armed secession of Sabah from
Malaysia. But upon knowing of the plans, the recruits have mutinied
and were eliminated except for one that swam the bay and was
rescued. The newspapers have called this incident, the "Jabidah
Massacre" named after the operation that was given by the military.
The survivor divulged the plan and the claim was put in back burner
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once more. It was believe that because of the incident, the
Malaysians have been aiding the Muslim separatists against the
Philippine government. Some people says this distracted the
attention to the claim on Sabah as the government was embroiled in
containing the conflict.
LEGAL CLAIM BASIS
The claim was based on several historical facts and court
judgement. The lease agreement is definitely a proof otherwise there
will be no basis for any agreement if such ownership was not
established at all. The contract was between Sri Paduka Maulana Al
Sultan Mohammad Jamalul Alam - representing the sultanate as
owner and sovereign of Sabah on one hand, and that of Gustavus
Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent, representing the British East
India Co. (then became the North Borneo Co.), on the other as lessee
of Sabah, was executed on June 22, 1878. Though the British turned
over the possession and government of Sabah to the federation, the
Malaysians have not remissed in paying the annual rental. The 1939
court judgement on the claim had handed ownership of North Borneo
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to the heirs of the Sultanate prior to the formation of Malaysian
federation in 1963. The judgment of Chief Justice C.F.C. Makaskie of
the High Court of North Borneo in the civil suit filed by the late
Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao and eight other heirs of the Sultan of
Sulu, including the famous Putlih (Princess) Tarhata Kiram, upheld
the validity of the claim of the heirs.
Proprietary rights
Reacting to Dorados presentation, Princess Jacel Kiram
daughter of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III maintained that Filipinos
have proprietary rights in Sabah.
We have so much wealth in Sabah na dapat tayo ang
nakikinabang (we should be the ones benefitting), Jacel said.
She said the lease agreement over North Borneo expired in
1978.
She accused the Aquino administration of protecting the
interests of the Malaysian prime minister rather than the interest of
the Filipino people.
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I would prefer to be another (nationality) rather than a Filipino
citizen under our current set of leaders, she said.
During the forum, Jacel confirmed the meeting between her
uncle Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram II and Interior Secretary Manuel
Roxas II.
This is the first official talk from our side and from the side of
the government, she said, declining to provide additional information
as she was not privy to what was discussed in the meeting.
Jacel said the development was a good gesture on the part of
the government, and that its intention was for the benefit of the
Filipino people.
Citing latest information from Sabah, Jacel said Agbimuddin
Kiram and his people are safe but a lot of Filipinos have become
victims of excessive force by Malaysian security forces.With Paolo
Romero, Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy
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SOURCES:
1. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. researched and exclusive article by the people of the
www.epilipinas.com
3. By Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 13,
2013 - 12:00am
4. Articles of Paolo Romero, Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy
5. www.Inquirer Philippines.com
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