Sultan of Sulu will never back-down with Malaysia for North Borneo Territory Stand-off

Jamalul D. Kiram III (born on July 16, 1938 in Maimbung, Sulu; reigned 1974- 1981) was the Sultan of Sulu in Sulu, southern Philippines during the Marcos era. He was a candidate for senator in the 2007 Philippine Elections.  With his retirement, the succession rights of the sultanate was disputed among his heirs such as Mohammad Akijal Atti. The dispute on the succession rights ended in November 11, 2012 when all claimants from the Kiram family met together in Sulu, ending their decade-long feud. Jamalul Kiram III declared Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram as "crown prince"

The Sulu Sultanate was once a powerful kingdom, stretching from Borneo, Southern Philippines to parts of the Visayas, Part of Mindanao, Palawan to the Spratly Islands. During the height of its power during the 1700s, the Sultanate exercise  control over most of what is now known as Mindanao and North Borneo.

State of Sabah once controlled by the old Sultanate of Sulu but Britain illegally ceded the North Borneo to Malaysia without informing the Sultan and without even paying a single dime to the Sultan who ruled the territory.

'till todate, Malaysia still recognized Sabah State or North Borneo State as part of the Sultanate of Sulu by paying a rental of M$5,000 Malaysian Ringgit per year to the Royal Sultanate of the Southern Philippines.

Britain, the responsible of the trouble in North Borneo and the Southern Philippines for the illegal transfer of the territory to Malaysia remained silent for few decades and ignored the call of the Philippines to respect the Sultanate of Sulu as the original Territorial owner of Sabah (North Borneo) and the territory must be return to the Sultanate of Sulu. Philippines and the Sultanate of Sulu State are too weak also to against the illegal order and the bully of the abusing  powerful Britain.

Sulu sultan won't budge

As reported by INQUIRER Global Nation, the recently crowned Sultan with his brother will never back down for the current stand-off between his men and the Malaysian Authority in North Borneo.

Undaunted amidst mounting pressure from both the Philippine and Malaysian governments, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the acknowledged leader of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo insisted that his royal decree that authorized the presence of  his younger brother, crown prince Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram and the combined civilian and armed followers in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia, stays.

"My decree is not about war. We are not waging war. I sent my brother in Sabah in the name of peace and in exercise of our historic, ancestral and sovereign right over Sabah," Jamalul told the INQUIRER in a phone interview facilitated through members of his family who were beside him as he was resting after undergoing his regular dialysis treatment.

Jamalul is in Metro Manila and is guarded by family and close relatives.

Asked as to until when his decree stays? Jamalul said, "For as long as necessary. Sabah is our homeland and the international community acknowledges this. If we have to go to the United Nations we will do so. It is upon us, the leaders of Sulu to claim back what is ours," the sultan added.

Does he have any message for the Philippine government?

"Everything I want to tell the President, I already told him in a letter sent to him, shortly after he assumed the presidency in 2010. I told him in that letter that it is the noble dream of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo to achieve unity, peaceful survival and economic prosperity and to be able to achieve that, the Sabah issue cannot be ignored," Jamalul said.

Jamalul is 74 years old, the eldest among the Kiram brothers who are direct descendants of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. He ran and lost for senator in the 2007 National Elections under the Team Unity of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Abraham Julpa Idjirani, secretary general and spokesperson for the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo said, Jamalul was supposed to meet on Saturday afternoon with some officials of the Aquino administration but was not able to do so because of the dialysis treatment.

Jamalul's wife Fatima Celia told the INQUIRER that her husband has been undergoing dialysis treatment for more than a year now.

Map of the Sultanate of Sulu

Open to talks with Palace

Idjirani said, they are open to talks with any official sent by Malacañang as he was already contacted by several officials of the Aquino administration since the standoff in Lahad Datu, Malaysia, was reported in the media. He did not identify the officers who got in touch with him but mentioned the agencies these officials are attached to. "Magpahinga lang si Sultan Jamalul, at pag naka-pahinga na siya, puwede na naming harapin ang sinumang opisyal na gustong makipag-usap sa kanya (After resting, Sultan Jamalul can face any official who wants to talk to him)," Idjirani said.

The INQUIRER also learned from another independent source who wished not to be identified that President Benigno Aquino III was informed of the presence of civilian and armed supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu in Lahad Datu, Malaysia, as early as the morning of Feb. 11 through one of his Cabinet members. "But at that time, the report was still sketchy and we had no idea who the group was. But the President was alerted about this on Day 1 of their landing in Sabah," the source said.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser in the Peace Process had no comment on Saturday on the Kirams' claim that they were taking back Sabah.

In Lahad Datu in Sabah, Agbimuddin told the Inquirer that he only follows and receives order from Jamalul and no one else. No one can force us to leave. Even if I, as crown prince of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo is guarded by armed men belonging to our royal security forces, we will never provoke any encounter," Agbimuddin said.

Assorted arms

Members of the royal security force are armed with assorted long firearms,  Agbimuddin said. "M-14, M-16, M203, Baby Armalite, basta assorted ang dala namin (we have all kinds)," he explained when asked what type of firearms they were carrying.

The active recruitment for members of the royal security force of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, according to Agbimuddin, began in 1999 but training only began in 2001 in Simunol, Tawi-Tawi, Isabela, Basilan and even in mainland Zamboanga. "Sa Grand Stand pa nga kami ng Zamboanga nag-physical fitness exercise at alam ng Southcom 'yan (We do our physical fitness exercises at the Zamboanga grand stand, and the Southcom knew it)," Agbimuddin added.

The Southcom he is referring to is the Southern Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines based in Zamboanga City and the Grand Stand is the one near Cawa-Cawa Boulevard.

Relatives on board

Who takes care of their logistics? Like food and other basic necessities since their landing in Lahad Datu?

Agbimuddin said, most of the residents of Tanduao, Lahad Datu, are Tausugs and relatives of the ones who went with him on board a motorboat from Tawi-Tawi. "Hindi kami magugutom dito at ang mga babae na kasama namin, sila ang nagluluto para sa amin (The women who are with us are doing the cooking)."

Will other groups with the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo follow him in Lahad Datu?

More coming

Agbimuddin answered that was his understanding, but he said he didn't know when. There might even be more, he said.

Another source from Sulu told the Inquirer that a group identified with a local political clan with a stronghold in one municipality there is reportedly getting ready to follow Agbimuddin in Sabah. The source identified the political leader as a relative of the Kirams and also a former mayor and a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) known then as the "Tiger of the MNLF."

"The mayor is getting ready and waiting for the order from Sultan Kiram III to proceed [to Sabah]," the source said in Filipino, adding that the influential leader in Sulu, now in his early 60s, command a force of more than 200 men.

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Philippine’ Sultanate of Sulu Royal Forces STANDOFF with illegal Malaysia Government in NBorneo

Map of the Sultanate of Sulu. The Sulu Sultanate was once a powerful kingdom, stretching from Borneo, Southern Philippines to parts of the Visayas, Part of Mindanao, Palawan to the Spratly Islands. During the height of its power during the 1700s, the Sultanate exercise  control over most of what is now known as Mindanao and North Borneo.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said about 80 to 100 gunmen apparently belonging to the "royal army" of the Philippine' Sultanate of Sulu had been cornered by security forces near the small coastal town of Lahad Datu in Sabah, North Borneo.

He said security forces were in control and negotiating with the group, some of whom were armed.

The area was once controlled by the old Sultanate of Sulu but Britain illegally ceded the North Borneo to Malaysia without informing the Sultan and without even paying a single dime to the Sultan who ruled the territory.

'till todate, Malaysia still recognized Sabah State or North Borneo State as part of the Sultanate of Sulu by paying a rental of M$5,000 Malaysian Ringgit per year to the Royal Sultanate of the Southern Philippines.

Britain, the responsible of the trouble in the Southern Philippines for the illegal transfer of the territory to Malaysia remained silent for few decades and ignored the call of the Philippines to respect the Sultanate of Sulu as the original Territorial owner of Sabah (North Borneo) and the territory must be return to the Sultanate of Sulu. Philippines and the Sultanate of Sulu State are too weak also to against the illegal order and the bully of the abusing  powerful Britain.  

Malaysia's national police chief Ismail Omar was quoted as saying the estimated 80 to 100 armed Sultanate of Sulu Royal Armies had declared themselves followers of "a descendant of the Sultan of Sulu."

Ismail, quoted on the website of The Star newspaper, said the group demanded to be recognized as the "Royal Sulu Sultanate Army" and insisted that as subjects of the sultanate, they should be allowed to remain in Sabah.

The Standoff begun after Malaysian Government deported the Sulu Nationals who settled in North Borneo for several decades. The Sulu Nationals (Philippine Citizen of the Southern Philippines under the old Sultanate of Sulu) still believe that Sabah or North Borneo is still part of the Sultanate of Sulu and they must be allowed to stay in Sabah as long as they want as it is part of the Sultanate of Sulu but Malaysian Government deported several hundreds of their compatriots and would probably affect the estimated 30% of the total residents of Sabah who are originally from the old Sultanate of Sulu Capital in the Southern Philippines.

In Manila, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the two countries "were in touch on the issue" but the details were unclear because "we are still trying to ascertain and complete the facts of this incident."

"What I've said earlier, we are still trying to complete our information Del Rosario told reporters.

Bernama said the Filipinos, who were wearing military fatigue uniforms, arrived in Lahad Datu on Tuesday and were isolated in a secluded area. Police officials said they have been told "to lay down their arms and surrender."

Gulf News said the armed men belong to the "Royal Army of Sulu," who were out to resurrect the Philippine's claim over Sabah."

"Unconfirmed reports from our sources said that a group who called themselves the Royal Army of Sulu Sultanate is behind the unauthorized armed presence," Gulf News said.

In 1963, Sabah, which was leased by the Sulu Sultanate to the British since the 19th century, became part of the Federation of Malaysia when Britain illegally ceded the territory to Malaysia . The Filipinos protested, claiming that Sabah was never sold to foreign interests.

The military declined to comment on the issue, but highly-placed sources said the men were believed to be the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu, who came from the islands of Basilan, Tawi-tawi and Sulu in Mindanao.

A military official, who asked not to be named, said the Filipinos were unarmed and they decided to sail to Sabah after a meeting in a schoolhouse in Tawi-Tawi because "Sabah belongs to us."

"Ito iyong grupo na nagki-claim. Nagpulong-pulong sila para pag-usapan kung papaano nila i-continue iyung pag-claim sa Sabah. Tapos my mga followers sila na sinasabing kapag sumama kayo magkaroon kayo ng lupa sa Sabah, bigyan kayo ng lupa," the official said.

In 1967, an attempt to land Filipino commandos, trained in Corregidor,  on Sabah  and invade Sabah under the "Operation Merdeka" was aborted after the supposed commandos were all but one killed. The lone survivor of the carnage,  Jibin Arula, revealed  what was eventually known as the Jabidah massacre.

Police Inspector-General Tan Sri Ismail Omar said police "formed the first circle to cordon the area, while military personnel made up the second circle."

"In terms of strength, we have the upper hand in combat power to arrest them. But the government opts for negotiation to break the stalemate so that they leave peacefully to southern Philippines," Omar said.

"But let the police negotiate with them and hopefully, it will bear fruit and succeed. This is because they cannot go anywhere, they have been surrounded. They have no choice and have to find a solution," he said.

Lahad Datu is a town in Tawau Division, in the east of Sabah, on the island of Borneo. The town, which occupies the peninsula on the north side of Darvel Bay, has population of 156,059 based on the 2000 census where 80% of the populations are originally from the Sultanate of Sulu (Basilan, Tawi-tawi, Zamboanga).

Lahad Datu is home to Sabah's population of Orang Bajau and other ethnic tribes or BADJAO who scattered around the Philippines as boat people, such as the Cocos Island Malays, who settled in the area in the 1950s when the Cocos Islands became part of Australia. Lahad Datu is known for its palm oil refineries.

The Philippine government signed a landmark peace deal with Muslim rebels late last year to end the 40-year conflict in the south, but some factions have voiced opposition as the deal could affect their claim that Sabah must be returned first to the Philippines and the Sultanate of Sulu must be re-empowered.

"Since Malaysia brokered the deal, followers from the Misuari Breakaway Group have decided to stir up some trouble and create fireworks in Sabah," the report quoted the Malaysian official as saying.

The Sulu Sultanate was once a powerful kingdom, stretching from Borneo, Southern Philippines to parts of the Visayas, Part of Mindanao, Palawan to the Spratly Islands. During the height of its power during the 1700s, the Sultanate exercise  control over most of what is now known as Mindanao and North Borneo.

Raja Muda Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram was proclaimed as the 35th Sultan of Sulu during ceremonies held in Maimbung, Jolo last September.

Security on Malaysia's sea border with the Philippines has been problematic for Sabah, where tens of thousands of Filipinos have immigrated in the past few decades.

With report sources from Manila Standard Today, Inquirer, Reuters, and Bangkok Post

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