Mps Urge Putrajaya To Pressure Philippines To Drop Sabah Claims

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PARLIAMENT| Opposition MPs have urged Putrajaya to pressure the Philippines government into dropping its claims on Sabah.
Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud) said she had submitted two motions for the matter to be debated in Parliament but was informed in writing to raise it during the winding-up of the royal address debates.
She said claims about Sabah had been openly debated in the Philippines, yet it did not gain enough attention from Malaysian lawmakers.
"They openly debate this claim on Sabah. Openly debate. So I am perplexed as to why we are so scared to debate this matter.
"Why are we not facing this problem? We keep saying we do not recognise, do not recognise. Not recognising, just saying that will not solve the problem," said Isnaraissah.
"You should tell the Philippines to drop the claim. Tell them once and for all. Don't say the Sabahans must wait for another 1,000 years," she said during Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Mas Ermieyati Samsudin's winding-up of the royal address debates.
"Sometimes, what do I feel? You (Putrajaya) want our oil, but you ignore our safety," she said.
Isnaraissah said the issue of claims on Sabah had been a constant theme during every major Philippines election, extending beyond alleged ties to the defunct Sulu Sultanate.
‘Place military assets in Sabah’
In response, Mas Ermieyatie insisted that the government has taken actions, including challenging any attempts to enforce the US$14.92 billion (RM62.6 billion) "final award" by a Spanish arbitrator to the Sulu sultanate's purported descendants.
"I ask all the MPs to give full support to the government's to ensure that actions taken to challenge this decision will be enforced without any political interference, so the country's sovereignty is protected," she said.
Other MPs who stood up to interject include Azis Jamman (Warisan-Sepanggar), Gobind Singh Deo (Harapan-Puchong) and Hanipa Maidin (Harapan-Sepang).
Azis also urged Putrajaya to consider placing military assets in strategic locations in Sabah and lift curfews currently in place for security reasons.
On March 10, Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Putrajaya would challenge any attempts to enforce the US$14.92 billion (RM62.6 billion) "final award" by a Spanish arbitrator to the Sulu sultanate's purported descendants.
He had also explained to the Dewan Rakyat that the "final award" was illegitimate and the arbitration proceedings were invalid.
The claimants are purportedly descendants of the Sulu sultanate. They made their claim after Malaysia ceased RM5,300 annual payments to their family after 2013.
Fighters loyal to the Sulu sultanate had invaded parts of eastern Sabah in 2013, killing 10 Malaysian security personnel. - Mkini

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