Younger brod succeeds Kiram

MANILA, Philippines - A younger brother has succeeded the late Jamalul Kiram III as sultan of Sulu and North Borneo.

Sultanate of Sulu spokesman Abraham Idjirani said there is no hindrance to 73-year-old Datu Esmail Kiram’s succeeding his brother who died last Oct. 19 at the Philippine Heart Center due to kidney ailment.

Idjirani said Esmail will be known as Sultan Esmail Kiram II.

“Everybody accepts the law and order of succession in the sultanate. The crown prince, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, had already made known that he will observe the succession’s law and order,” he said.

The sultanate hogged the headlines early this year after some 300 of its fighters led by Raja Muda Kiram landed in Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysia in an apparent attempt to take control of the territory.

The landing of the sultanate’s armed men in Sabah triggered clashes with Malaysian security forces and hurt Manila’s diplomatic relations with Kuala Lumpur. The Philippines has a standing claim over Sabah.