Sabah heirs also in ‘standoff’

DOZENS of heirs of Sultan Esmail Kiram I are claiming their own share of the Sabah island believed to be worth US$1 billion, three of them  saying they are the 35th Sultan of Sulu.

Historical records showed that Sultan Kiram I was the 33rd Sultan of Sulu-Sabah whose only brother, Datu Punjungan, now also deceased, fled to Borneo shortly after the strongman Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972.

While Datu Punjungan was in Sabah, a son of Sultan Kiram 1 named Mahakuttah had himself crowned as the 34th Sultan of Sulu but later abdicated his throne in favor of his uncle, Datu Punjungan when the latter returned to the country after Martial Law ended.

Datu-turned Sultan Punjungan have three sons, namely, Sultan Jamalul III, Datu Ismael II and Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram, the Crown Prince of the  Sultanate of Sulu.

The three have two cousins who  also crowned themselves as Sultan of Sulu. They are Sultan Muedzul Lail Kuan and Sultan Muhammad Fuad.

Thus, there are three 35th Sultans of Sulu at present: Sultan Muedzul Lail  Tan Kiram, Sultan Jamalul III and Sultan Muhammad Fuad.

In the case of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, he is said to be gravely ill and his brother Datu Ismael II is the one actually running their affairs in Sulu. Agbimuddin Kiram holds the rank Rajah Mudah which literally means Crown Prince. He is the one leading armed members of the Royal Sulu Forces in Sabah.

A top security official last week told the Journal Group they expect more claimants to Sabah due to the prospect of becoming instant billionaires. On Thursday, a man claiming to be a Muslim royal named Prince Hadji Rodinood Sultan Julaspi Kiram claimed he is the rightful owner of Sabah, being the 29th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo and the direct descendant of the late Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo.

The Sabah “standoff” involved the entry into the island of RSF members under the command of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, one of the claimants of the title Sultan of Sulu and their subsequent occupation of areas within the territory, thus reviving discussions on the relatively dormant yet delicate issue of the Philippines claim to Sabah.

Officials said that sometime in 2012, a group of Datu Muedzul Lal Tan Kiram attempted to enter Sabah with the intent of occupying certain areas. Sources said  Malaysian authorities acknowledged Datu Muedzul’s claim to the title Sultan of Sulu because he is the son of Sultan Mahakuttah Kiram, the last recognized Sultan who reigned from 1974 to 1986.

Sultan Jamalul is the son of Datu Punjungan Kiram who was stripped of his title Crown Prince in favor of Sultan Mahakuttah. When Sultan Jamalul received news of Datu Muedzul’s attempt, he decided to issue in October last year a decree authorizing the occupation of portions of Sabah in order to strengthen their bid to reclaim the territory.

source:  Journal Online