KUCHING: The rights of the Borneo region, particularly the state of Sabah, must be defended, said Senator Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
He said the people of Sabah cannot and must not be held ransom by an agreement signed in 1878 which does not even have an arbitration clause in it.
“Our nation cannot be treated the way we have been by a rogue arbitrator who moves the seat of arbitration from one jurisdiction to another on his ‘whims and fancies’.
“We as citizens cannot allow a third-party funder to take advantage and manipulate a group of Filipino citizens for their own gain and benefit, and affecting the sovereignty of our nation,” he said.
The Senate president noted there is no arbitration clause under the 1878 Agreement, and Malaysia was not obligated to have the claim by the Sulu heirs arbitrated in the absence of any agreement between the government and the purported heirs.
He said this during the International Arbitration Colloquium 2023 (Sabah Edition) in Sabah on Tuesday (July 4).
“Since there was no agreement and there is no agreement on the seat of arbitration, the arbitrator, appointed by the claimant, proceeded initially to hear the Arbitration in Spain and later moved the arbitration to France after intervention by the Spanish Court.
“The government of Malaysia never agreed that any arbitration should be conducted in France or Spain,” he said.
In 1963, he said, the Malaysia Agreement was signed between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Federated Malay States, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore. This agreement was the foundation of the formation of Malaysia.
“This Agreement, we must remember, was registered in the United Nations in 1970 and recognition was sought by Malaysia and the Federal Constitution was amended accordingly.
“A precursor to this Agreement was the Cobbold Commission that was formed to hear the views and recommendations of the people of North Borneo and Sarawak prior to deciding if the two territories wish to join the Federated Malay States to form Malaysia,” he said.
