A Malaysian academic has rejected the Sulu Sultanate’s $25 billion claim to Sabah, saying historic treaties and alliances cited by the family hold no legal weight in contemporary international laws.
Marja Azlima Omar, a lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, was responding to remarks by Abraham Idjirani, secretary-general of the self-styled Sultanate, who said the group may seek China’s backing for a petition to the United Nations.
In comments published by the Daily Tribune, Idjirani had said the Sultanate planned to invoke centuries-old treaties and a 15th-century tributary pact with China, claiming they demonstrated longstanding sovereignty over Sabah.
Marja described the legal strategy as “flawed and obsolete” in a statement issued through the UMS media release in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday.
“The 1405 China-Sulu relationship remains largely diplomatic symbolism, rather than a pursuit of legal sovereignty,” she said.
She added that the 1915 Carpenter-Kiram Treaty — also cited by the Sultanate — merely placed the Sulu region under American colonial protection and made no mention of Sabah, which was then under British administration.
“By then, Sabah was already under British rule,” she said.
Further to this, Marja argued that Malaysia has exercised “continuous and effective control” over Sabah since the formation of the federation in 1963, a position recognised in international law.
She also noted that the people of Sabah had chosen to join Malaysia, in a process endorsed by the United Nations and enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
“The people of Sabah had clearly exercised this right, and their decision to join Malaysia carries substantial legal weight in comparison to historical claims by external entities.
“The latter claim falls short of modern international law’s jurisdiction or authority,” she said.
The Sultanate’s efforts to involve China and royal houses in Mindanao, such as the recent unity covenant with the Sultanates of Sulu, Maguindanao and the Rajanate of Buayan, were also dismissed as having no legal force.
“The revival of these royal networks, while notable for heritage preservation, cannot substitute for state-based diplomacy or legal standing at the UN or the International Court of Justice,” Marja said.
Idjirani, in his interview, claimed Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed ties with the Sulu Sultanate during a 2017 commemoration in Shandong Province.
However, Marja insisted such gestures are “symbolic and non-binding”.
She said that any credible discussion on Sabah’s status must be grounded in “modern legal and geopolitical frameworks”, rather than what she described as “antiquated claims rooted in lost sovereignty”. – April 3, 2025
