MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari (centre)
(The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) vowed yesterday to help the Sultanate of Sulu pursue its historical and legal claim on the disputed territory of Sabah (North Borneo) which was included in the Federation of Malaysia when it was formed in 1963.
“MNLF will stick to its original political objective which is the recovery of Sabah” Lawyer Rexie Bugaring, MNLF senior legal adviser, told the Daily Tribune.
Bugaring pointed out that when MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari declared the Independence of the Bangsa Moro Republik (BMR) it included Mindanao, Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.)
DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA
THE Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) vowed yesterday to help the Sultanate of Sulu pursue its historical and legal claim on the disputed territory of Sabah (North Borneo) which was included in the Federation of Malaysia when it was formed in 1963.
“MNLF will stick to its original political objective which is the recovery of Sabah” Lawyer Rexie Bugaring, MNLF senior legal adviser, told the Daily Tribune.
Bugaring pointed out that when MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari declared the Independence of the Bangsa Moro Republik (BMR) it included Mindanao, Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.
The Declaration of Independence however was put in the back burner after Misuari ordered the freezing of all political moves in deference to President Duterte who was advocating a shift in form of government from Unitary to Federal system.
During the proclamation of independence in July 2013 Misuari declared Mindanao, Palawan, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan including the Malaysian island of Sabah and Sarawak part of BMR territory.
Misuari however ordered the shelving of independence to pave the way for President Duterte’s shift in the form of government from unitary to federal.
Bugaring said MNLF would be aggressive in pursuing the claim of the Sultanate of Sulu over Sabah and Sarawak by integrating the disputed territory into the proposed Federal state of Bangsamoro.
He said with the declaration of Sabah and Sarawak as part of the Bangsa Moro Federal state restores the historic and proprietary rights of the Sultanate of Sulu which up to this time is being recognized by Malaysia.
“The MNLF is just reasserting the rights of the people of Sulu over their ancestral and historic rights” he said.
Earlier the Sultanate of Sulu renewed its call on President Duterte to initiate the revival of government claim over the disputed territory after the Malaysian government officially announced that it has stopped paying the yearly lease it inherited from the British Colonial government in 1878.
Abraham Idjirani, Sultanate Secretary General and spokesman, said Malaysia is attempting to suppress the legal and historical rights of the heirs of the Sultanate by ignoring the contract of the British North Borneo Company and the Sultanate in 1878 allowing the British Company to occupy Sabah.
He said long before the creation of Malaysia, the Sultanate has been receiving the yearly lease equivalent to five thousand Malaysian ringgit.
He said that no less than the British Session Court of North Borneo upheld the proprietary rights of the heirs of the Sultanate and appointed Datu Punjaman Kiram as the administrator of the estate of North Borneo.
“The Makaskie judgement proved that no less than the British colonial ruler has recognized the right of the Sultanate over Sabah long before Malaysia became a nation,” he said.
Idjirani said the newly formed Federation of Malaysia also signed a series of agreements in 1963 recognizing the claim of the Philippines to Sabah despite its inclusion to the newly-created nation.
The Manila declaration was signed on 3 August, while the Manila joint statement and Manila accord on 31 July 1963.
“The Philippines made it clear that in its position on the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia, the Ministers took note of the Philippine claim and its right to pursue it in accordance with International law and the principle of the Pacific Settlement of disputes,” the Manila accord said.
The ministers also agreed that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia would not prejudice either the claim of right thereafter.
Among the signatories of the 1963 agreements were then Malaysia deputy minister Tun Abdul Razak, the late Vice President and Foreign Affairs secretary Emmanuel Pelaez and Dr. Subardo, deputy foreign Minister of Indonesia.
Idjirani said with the agreement there is no reason for Malaysia to abandon its legal obligation to the heir of the Sultanate.
“President Duterte can direct the Department of Foreign Affairs to initiate the move before the United Nation,” Idjirani said. -Sumber Tribune.Net.Ph
