Sulu heirs claim: Good job Azalina, Wanita Umno extolls gratitude

KUALA LUMPUR - Wanita Umno congratulated fellow party member Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said who led the country to victory in the legal tussle of the infamous heirs of the Sulu Sultanate claim on Sabah.

Its Chief Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad expressed her deepest gratitude towards the Law Minister in her keynote address during the wing’s general meeting for the year 2023 at party HQ at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre.

“The sovereignty of this country needs to be protected, and Wanita Umno urges the government to take stern action against the masterminds behind these baseless claims.

“This showed that the Umno leader successfully played the role of checks and balances in the Unity Government,” Noraini stressed.

On June 6, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld Malaysia’s challenge against the partial award issued in 2020 by Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa in the case filed by eight Filipinos who claim to be heirs of the defunct Sultan of Sulu.

In a statement, Azalina pointed out that the Paris Court of Appeal found that the arbitrator had wrongly upheld his jurisdiction.

"This decision, which is final and binding, is a decisive victory for Malaysia in its ongoing pursuit of legal remedies, which Malaysia is confident will result in comprehensive defeat for the claimants and their funders," wrote Azalina.

The dispute is linked to the Sulu heirs’ years-long claims to Sabah. The then-sultanate had leased Sabah to a British company in 1878 and the Borneo state was later absorbed into Malaysia. The Sulu sultanate ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, which are part of Mindanao in today’s Philippines.

A French arbitration court last year ordered Malaysia to pay the Sulu descendants over their claim. The government filed an application to cancel the award in Paris, while a Luxembourg court set aside the legal action payment, Malaysia said in January.

In March, a court in Paris upheld a stay order obtained by Malaysia on enforcement of the award.