Rival Sulu Heir Rails Against Group Who Took Sabah Claims To Court

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An alleged “heir” to the Sulu sultanate has chastised another group of “heirs” for their decision to take a dispute over lease payments for Sabah to court.
Omar Ali Bachtiyal - who claims to be the son of a cousin to Ombra Amilbangsa - also disputed the lineage of one of the claimants.
Ombra is one of four Sulu leaders declared a sultan in the mid 1930s. He claimed the throne by virtue of being the husband of Dayang Dayang Piandao, the daughter of Sultan Mohamed Badarud-Din II and niece to Sultan Jamalul Kiram II.
Omar is reported by Bernama as thus being an heir from Dayang Dayang Piandao’s lineage.
Speaking to the national news agency, Omar took issue with the claim by one of the eight Sulu “heirs”, Taj-Mahal Kiram-Tarsum Nuqui, claiming to be an heir from the same line.
"Taj-Mahal is the grandchild of Tarahata and not of Dayang Dayang Piandao. When they say they are the grandchild of Dayang Dayang Piandao, it is a lie. Dayang Dayang Piandao never had a child, so how can she have a grandchild?” he said.
Despite Omar's claims, however, Taj-Mahal may be the legal heir of Dayang Dayang Piandao.
A report by Filipino news media ABS-CBN from 2013, found court documents from 2011 that bequeathed Dayang Dayang Piandao's estate to Dayang-Dayang Putri Taj-Mahal Kiram-Tarsum Nuqui.
Putri is likely a title used by Taj-Mahal.
While Omar was not reported as detailing how the other seven claimants are not rightful heirs to the Sulu sultanate, he argued that their legal action was invalid nonetheless.
“In my opinion, it is not valid because we know that (the facts about the heirs) are mixed up, and if we really study (their status) is doubtful so this (status) is not true for me.”
Four of the claimants - Fuad Kiram, Sheramar T Kiram, Permaisuli Kiram-Guerzon and Jenny KA Sampang - are mentioned as legal heirs in the ABS-CBN article, which also mentions their supposed lineage.
The claimants are seeking US$14.92 billion (RM63.34 billion) from Putrajaya in response to Malaysia cutting off annual lease payments of RM5,300 for Sabah to the Sulu sultanate in 2013.
The lease was based on an agreement between the Sulu sultanate and a private company in 1878, which Malaysia later inherited in 1963.

The payment had been cut off in response to the Lahad Datu invasion, which was instigated by another rival heir, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
The claimants had sought arbitration over the matter in Spain and had initially won their case, which led them to seize Petronas assets registered in Luxembourg last year.
However, their case has fallen apart after the arbiter in their case was annulled, with the subsequent ruling in Luxembourg retracted.
Call for negotiation
Omar said it would have been better for the Sulu sultanate to negotiate with Putrajaya instead of taking legal action.
"We can negotiate… we just want what is best for both parties, we also want to help develop Sabah. It’s better that we discuss it with the Malaysian government,” he added.
Security forces during the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013Meanwhile, Omar is cited by Bernama as claiming that some of the claimants were involved in the Lahad Datu incursion.
However, there were no quotes on this claim, nor were any of the claimants named as alleged conspirators in the invasion. - Mkini

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