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 SecretaryGeneral 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 SecretaryGeneral 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 KayaKaya 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 SecretaryGeneral 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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