MANILA, Philippines - The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo on Friday stressed that the 5,300 ringgits (almost P70,000) paid annually by the Malaysian government to the heirs of the sultanate is rent for Sabah and not cession money for its transfer as claimed by Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman.
“If its is cession money, why are they still paying the heirs up to now? If it were cession money, why is it still being paid up to today? Kung cession, bakit walang tigil?†said Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the sultanate.
Idjirani said the confusion lies in the translation of the word “padjak†which was used in the 1878 contract between the Sultanate of Sulu, the ruler of Sabah and the British North Borneo Company.
In the contract that supposedly leased Sabah, the word “padjak†appeared which according to him meant merely a lease.
Idjirani said experts in Bahasa Malay also agree that “padjak†which is also used in the Tausug dialect and that was written in Arabic characters in the 1878 contract, is defined as “lease.†Idjirani however said, the term was misinterpreted by the British North Borneo Company as “cession.â€
“We have historical records to show that the contract was for lease and not for cession,†Idjirani said.
Aman said the Malaysian government does not recognize any outside claims that Sabah does not belong to Malaysia.
Aman told Malaysia's TV3 that the 1878 agreement between Alfred Dent and Baron von Overbeck of the British North Borneo Company and the sultan of Sulu at that time stated that the sultan of Sulu ceded the region of North Borneo permanently, and the heir is entitled to receive annual payment of 5,300 ringgits.