| By Rosli Abidin
Yahya
According to a local historian
and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Constantino Jaraula of the
Philippines, Sabah was once part of the Sultanate, but was given
as a prize to the Sultan of Sulu in gratitude for his help in
quelling a rebellion on Sabah in 1704.
The Sultan of Sulu sent 1,200
Tausog warriors to Sabah to fight side by side with the Sultan
of Brunei's warriors. Of the 1,200 warriors sent to the
battlefield by the Sultan of Sabah, "only 600 returned
alive and as a gesture of gratitude, the Sultan of Brunei
yielded his rights over Sabah to the Sulu Sultanate,"
Jaraula said to the Philippines Daily Inquirer yesterday.
The gift of Sabah must have
been given during the reign of Sultan Nasruddin ibni Pengiran
Muda Besar Abdullah, since according to Yura Halim in his book,
Re-research Brunei Darussalam, Sultan Nasruddin was the 15th
Sultan of Brunei who reigned from 1690 to 1710.
According to Yura Halim, after
the demise of Sultan Haji Muhammad Ali, the throne was claimed
by the Pg Bendahara Abdul Hak, who named himself Sultan Abdul
Hakkul Mubin, the 13th Sultan of Brunei (1660 - 1673).
The local historian said an
ensuing war between Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin and Pengiran
Bendahara Muhyiddin had resulted in Pengiran Bendahara Muhyiddin
asking for help from the Sultan of Sulu. Sultan Abdul Hakkul
Mubin lost the war and proceeded to throwing the throne to the
sea near Pulau Chermin. Pengiran Bendahara Muhyiddin then became
the 14th Sultan of Brunei, assuming the name of Sultan Muhyiddin.
He reigned Brunei from 1673 until 1690.
In his book, Yura Halim said
during his reign Sultan Muhyiddin received a visit from his
cousin's nephew, Datuk Dakula of Sulu and was given the title
Pengiran Temenggung Dakula Pengiran Abdul Rauf.
Constantino Jaraula, an
international lawyer and author of several history books, said
that on Jan. 22, 1878, Baron Gustavus de Overdeck, the Austrian
consul in Hong Kong, and Alfred Dent formed the British North
Borneo Co. that leased Sabah from the Sultanate of Sulu for
RM5,000 (about B$2,650) a year.
The company was granted the
British Royal Charter on Nov. 1, 1881 and regularly paid the
lease to the Sultanate of Sulu - a clear indication that they
recognised the ownership of the Sultanate of Sulu over Sabah,
Jaraula said.
He added that political
upheavals in Southeast Asia over the past few decades and other
disruptions caused by the war in the Pacific during World War II
had however blurred the issue of ownership of Sabah.
On July 10, 1946, just days
before the Philippines was granted independence by the United
States, the British government invoked its rights over the
British North Borneo Co. and transferred the rights and assets
of that company - including its lease of Sabah - to the British
Crown.
Jaraula said the transfer of
the British North Borneo Co.'s assets to the British Crown was
protested by US special adviser to the Philippines' Gov. Francis
Harrison, who called the British Crown's actions "an act of
aggression" because of the Sultanate of Sulu's ownership of
Sabah. Harrison contended that the Sultanate of Sulu, then
already part of the Philippine Republic, was never consulted on
the matter.
In 1930, an interpleader suit
was filed by Sulu Sultanate heir Dayang Dayang Hadjor Piadro
before the North Borneo High Court to determine who would
receive the lease payments for Sabah. High Court judge Macaskie
ruled the Philippine government as the private heir and
successor to the Sultan of Sulu.
In 1950, Congressmen Diosdado
Macapagal, Arsenio Lacson and Arturo Tolentino filed a
resolution in the Congress urging the government to recover
Sabah, using international law and procedures.
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