Beware of sultan of Sulu impostors!

Sultan Muedzul-Lail T Kiram, current reigning sultan of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah) shown in better times with his  uncle, Datu Fuad Kiram (right) who has decided to usurp the Sulu throne aided by a fake 'prince marshal'.

Please be informed that the websites you see on Facebook, and on the net in general, promoting the impostorship of Datu Fuad Kiram (the uncle of Sultan Muedzul Kiram) and rallying support for Fuad Kiram to be recognised as sultan of Sulu are part of a massive sting operation. The said websites were created by someone who is not even a Tausug but decided to appropriate for himself the title of prince marshal - he is the handler of Datu Fuad whom he convinced to try to usurp the sultanate throne. His websites are a mixture of facts, fiction and fairy tale. In other words, they can only be the creations of the leader of a con gang whose main pre-occupation today is to try to get rich quick.

Datu Fuad, who is telling everyone on Facebook that he is the sultan of Sulu (which, if you examine closely is based on pure 'backside wind') and his handler, someone who is undoubtedly excellent at story telling, met for the first time in 2004 and hatched a plan. For your infomation, it was Sultan Muedzul, who was then Rajahmuda (Crowned Prince) who appointed his uncle, Datu Fuad, as sultan regent of Sabah. But the poor, feeble-minded and unemployed Datu Fuad was convinced by the handler to proclaim himself sultan in place of his nephew who has the most legitimate claim to the title. So, the problem began. 

Sultan Muedzul stripped his uncle Fuad of the regent sultan of Sabah title while the Rumah Bechara of Sulu excommunicated Fuad. Fuad's handler then took things a step forward by organising a crowning ceremony for Fuad in a basketball court in Angono, Rizal. The said handler also convinced Datu Fuad to forge some kind of accusation against Sultan Muedzul Kiram for some 'haram' act which Ayatollah Matt Salleh, one of the illustrious members of the Forum who has worked and knows the Tausug culture more than many will ever do, qualifies as fake charges.

Ayatollah Matt Salleh, one of the unsung heroes of Operation Merdeka, the first physical attempt of the Republic to claim Sabah (in the 60s and 70s) said, "There is no proof of any competent authority declaring him haram. Only the Ruma Bechara can do so. Neither is there any police record or court conviction of such thing."

Furthermore, the said Datu Fuad handler organised a group on Facebook to rally support for the impostorship of Fuad. The same handler who, by the way, goes under the name of Omar Kiram (although not a Kiram nor a Tausug, and is completely unknown to legendary Tausug warrior Nur Misuari) is someone who is also very good at creating internet sites, as one of our illustrious members here once remarked to us.

STATEMENT FROM HM SULTAN MUEDZUL-LAIL T. KIRAM, 35th Reigning Sultan, Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah)

SO ALL MAY KNOW... STATEMENT FROM HM SULTAN MUEDZUL-LAIL T. KIRAM, 35th Reigning Sultan, Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah)

STATEMENT FROM HM SULTAN MUEDZUL-LAIL T. KIRAM35th Reigning Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah)

11 November 2012

TO MY FELLOW FILIPINOS, MY FELLOW TAUSUGS, AND ALL COMPATRIOTS

I am a simple man who, by birth, inherited the moral and legal responsibility left by my forebears to lead the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah).
My grandfather, Sultan Esmail Kiram I, transferred sovereignty rights over Sabah to the Republic of the Philippines on September 11, 1962. Upon his death in 1974, his eldest son, my father, Sultan Moh. Mahakuttah A. Kiram, assumed the title of Sultan in the State of Sulu and all its districts and dependencies. Upon my father's death in 1986, as his eldest son, I, the Rajahmuda (Crowned Prince), descendant of Sultan Jamalul Kiram I, founder of the Sultanate of Sulu, assumed the mantle of leadership for the Sultanate of Sulu & North Borneo (Sabah).
On September 16, 2012, the Royal Council of Elders (Rumah Bichara) of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah), officially proclaimed me the 35th Sultan of Sulu and all its districts and dependencies
.My fellow Filipinos, my fellow Tausugs, my compatriots wherever you may be, I solemnly vow to defend and uphold my oath as defender of our sovereignty rights over Sabah. With your help, I will do my very best to obtain justice so that Sabah may be returned to its rightful owners, the Tausugs, the people of Sulu and the people of the Philippines.
With your prayers and support, I, Sultan Muedzul-Lail T. Kiram, 35th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah), declare before you that I am prepared to retake and to uphold sovereignty rights of the Republic of the Philippines over North Borneo (Sabah).

So help me God.

HM SULTAN MUEDZUL-LAIL T. KIRAM

Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah)

"CITIZENSHIP-FOR-VOTES" FOR DISPLACED FILIPINOS IN SABAH WAS MALAYSIA PRIME MINISTER MAHATHIR'S BRAINCHILD

"CITIZENSHIP-FOR-VOTES" FOR DISPLACED FILIPINOS IN SABAH WAS MALAYSIA PRIME MINISTER MAHATHIR'S BRAINCHILD POTENTIALLY TO ENSURE THAT THE PHILIPPINE SABAH CLAIM WILL BE 'BURIED' FOREVER

By Admin ADB
For the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
30 January 2013

MALAYSIANS ARE ASKING: "Why quiet about Dr Mahathir’s confession?"

The "confession" is all about the "role" of the former prime minister of Malaysia in the citizenship-for-votes scandal in Sabah that has rocked Malaysia. The report is actually misleading because if I am to believe some of the rather influential people I met in KL, the leader who engineered the scheme was Mr Mahathir himself. It was his "baby" so to speak. He was the brain behind it!

I first talked about this citizenship-for-votes -- although without exactly using those words, to the same group of Admins here a couple of years ago when we were first setting up a Sabah forum with some people (who, fortunately, we discovered early enough to be as degrading con artists as PM Mahathir was.)

The 'citizenship-for-votes' was a scheme that Dr Mahathir hatched and put in place in Sabah to ensure UMNO election in the province that would give the coalition control of Malaysia Parliament. I discovered this in the 90s in KL through people I knew there who were in politics and in business (most of them were in both -- the two sectors were inseparable) who were 'in the know' -- it was a kind of an open secret. But no one, absolutely no one in Malaysia politics - or big business for that matter, would dare speak of it publicly out of fear of the all-powerful Mahathir whose men in the Treasury held the purse strings for the party, for government contracts and for almost anything.

Sabah was the gold mine of votes for UMNO for PM Mahathir then. Without Sabah's votes -- hence the distribution of Malaysia ID cards, the coalition headed by BN would have collapsed in the Malaysia Parliament. UMNO was on tenuous ground following the resignation of Hussein Onn in 1981, PM Mahathir's predecessor. Mahathir knew that if a solution was not found, UMNO coalition would explode -- and if UMNO exploded, Barisan Nasional, his party had no chance of controlling Parliament.

The scheme was simple: UMNO rounded up most displaced Filipinos who had fled the Mindanao Secession War in the 70s and who had more or less integrated in the Sabah way of life and offered them citizenship. In exchange, they would vote UMNO in the elections. It worked. Mahathir won 5 consecutive general elections giving him the majority in Malaysia Parliament. I have every reason to believe that the 'citizenship-for-votes' in Sabah existed up to the early 90s (especially after his deputy and rising political star Anwar Ibrahim began to give him a run for his money and began to contest his leadership.)

In the 90s when I began visiting Sabah, I met several Sabahanos who fled to Sabah following the Mindanao Secession War. A few of those with whom I became friends admitted that they were benificiaries of the Mahathir citizenship-for-votes scheme. They had no choice -- they felt vulnerable and so accepted PM Mahathir's/UMNO's largesse in order to be able to stay in Sabah "legally."

Malaysia press hasn't got the 'bite' that Philippine media enjoys and they will find it very difficult to expose the extent of the citizenship-for-votes scheme that Mahathir had organised. According to one Basilan-born Sabahan leader I know and with whom I have remained in contact, he reckons, not counting Indonesians, that there were tens of thousands of Filipinos who had taken advantage of the citizenship-for-votes scheme of Mahathir. He told me that during the general election, it was amusing to see that the queus of voters in the polling stations were mostly people from Mindanao.

Sabah and Sarawak represent the most number of seats in the Malaysia parliament with Sabah delivering every election the most votes for UMNO -- not sure anymore how many (if I remember rightly they were in the 40s) but enough to maintain UMNO majority at election time; this is why Sabah is so important to BN (Barisan National or National Front) leaders who make up the majority in the UMNO coalition which then dominates the Malaysia Parliament.

Sabah votes were Mahathir's Malaysia Parliament lifeline without which his UMNO coalition had a poor chance of obtaining control of Parliament. In fact, even today, PM Najib, who lost in his own hometown in a recent election, without Sabah's gold mine of votes, there is every chance that UMNO, let alone BN, will not win the number of seats necessary to give him the majority of seats in Malaysia Parliament.

Incidentally, in the late 70s, a group of ethinc Chinese businessmen in Sabah tried to organise a "secession" movement and declare an independent Sabah. The repression was ruthless. Some Sabahanos who were originally displaced Filipinos were part of the movement (I know a couple of them very well) but when offered amnesty, they accepted and supported UMNO instead.

Now as to Free Malaysia Today's question: Why quiet about Dr M’s confession?

The answer is simple: PM Najib is still a recipient of the Sabah votes by those who took advantage of Mahathir's citizenship-for-votes scheme. Many of the members of BN today as well as some of the Chinese-Malaysian stalwarts of UMNO sitting in Parliament are also beneficiaries.

Why quiet? Because there is also a risk that if they insist on examining the scheme, Malaysia authorities might open cans and cans of worms that will expose not only the number of people who had been granted Malaysia citizenship for votes but also the long held secret that Mahathir even encouraged the emigration of Filipinos and Indonesians to Sabah with a view to populating Sabah with Malays predominantly to prevent the Chinese (and Indian) population from gaining ground in Sabah politically. 

But I have a deep seated suspicion that there is more to just preventing the Chinese (and Indian) population from controlling Sabah one day -- Mahathir's scheme, I am confident, had something to do too with ensuring that the Philippine Sabah claim would be buried forever.

Originally posted on : Philippine Sabah Claim Forum

=============

REPORT: Why quiet about Dr M’s confession?

By Joseph BingkasanJanuary 29, 2013Free Malaysia Today
Tuarasn MP Wilfred Bumburing is wondering why the Sabah Umno deputy chief is silent on the former premier's admission regarding the IC issue. 

KOTA KINABALU: Pro-opposition Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) has taken state Umno deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak to task for being quick to criticise the opposition but not former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who admitted his role in the citizenship-for votes scandal that has since rocked the state. 

APS president Wilfred Bumburing said Mahathir openly confessed following shocking revelations during the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) hearing but Salleh has chosen to ignore this and not challenged the former premier to testify and instead focused on Anwar Ibrahim. 

Full story:http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/01/29/why-quiet-sbout-dr-ms-confession/

Story of Jose Rizal's Sabah dream

This Article appeared in the Sept. 4, 2002 column of columnist Ambeth Ocampo in the PDI.

It is the story of the Jose Rizal's dream to establish a colony in North Borneo for the disenfranchised farmers of Laguna and Batangas.

Posted by Filipina Maharlika

Kuala Lumpur is holding Sabah illegaly because Malaysia Federation is neither legal nor valid

MALAYSIA's CONTINUING ANNEXATION OF SABAH IS CONSTITUTIONALLY WRONG EVEN BY 1963 FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA CONSTITUTION STANDARD

"The absence of Singapore has directly resulted in the constitutional treaty, which included the constitutions of Sabah and Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia, being invalid." -- Joseph Wilfred Lakai, Free Malaysia Today 

I have always held the view that Peninsular Malaysia's continuing annexation of Sabah is constitutionally wrong even by 1963 Malaysia Federation constitution standard. Malaysia's treatment of its historical facts has always been to my mind filled with a lot of half-truths. Malaysians -- and worse their leaders, continue to deceive their own people by teaching their children that MALAYSIA gained independence from the British in 1957 which is an utter lie.

THE INALIENABLE TRUTH: MALAYSIA FEDERATION was born on 16 September 1963. So how could a nation which was not even born gain independence? How could Malaysia say that they gained their independence from the British when the British had technically not ruled the Peninsula since 1957, the year the British gave the Malayans 'their independence on a whether you like it or not basis'? In fact, the Malayans did not want to be independent because they feared that if left alone they would not be able to compete with the Chinese population of Malaya. The inalienable truth is lies have always been the basis of existence of Malaysia.

FIRSTLY, Sabah which was a separate entity that was under direct British colonial control received independence from their British colonialists on 31st August 1963 and for FIFTEEN DAYS was technically truly INDEPENDENT. However on 16 September 1963, it was annexed to a new political entity whose new constitution was not even formally framed yet: the MALAYSIA Federation (the letter 'S' in the new name stood for Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah.)

SECONDLY, the referendum was a sham! During the fifteen days when Sabah was supposed to be technically independent of their British colonizers, we were, and are still being made to believe that the idea of a 1963 referendum to determine if Sabahans agree for their infant nation, i.e., Sabah, to join a new Malaysia Federation that was in the making, was presented to the people of Sabah; that debates on the referendum were organised, that colloques were held, that political discussions across massive and greatly rural Sabah and among Sabahans took place; that voting was held; that counting was done, and finally, that it was determined that Sabahans indeed had decided, etc., -- AND that all of these activities that would decide the fate of an infant so-called independent nation took place in a matter of fifteen days. Hogwash!

We all know that Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Malayan who was leading the Malayans at the time, distributed a few leaflets about the referendum, talked to a few Sabahan leaders, promised them a lot of good things and then instructed them to do things to ensure that the referendum would be for an "Aye!" vote.

NOTE THIS: "The response from Sabah and Sarawak was not on par with that from Singapore and the initial response from Brunei, since both territories feared losing authority in the administration of their governments. Apart from this, the non-Malays feared that the Malays in Sabah and Sarawak would be even more dominant should the merger take place. To allay their fears, Tunku Abdul Rahman went to these territories in June 1961 and set up the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee (MSCC) to inform the people of the benefits of the merger." Federation of Malaysia pdf document "

The group that was was tasked with overseeing that the people of Sabah supported the proposal for Sabah to become a federated member of the NEW Malaysia Federation was the Cobbold Commission which was also "responsible for the subsequent drafting of the Constitution of Malaysia prior to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963."

The members of the Commission were (in picture): Lord Cobbold, former Governor of the Bank of England, chairman of the Commission, Wong Pow Nee, Chief Minister of Penang, Mohammed Ghazali Shafie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anthony Abell, former Governor of Sarawak, David Watherston, former Chief Secretary of Malaya.

Notice anything? There was NO SABAHAN member of the Commission.

What is surprising is that the Cobbold Commission report did not specifically address the concerns of the people but instead reported on generalities that tended to address the MALAYA desiderata, i.e., Kuala Lumpur leaders! Many Sabahans later on insisted that they had not even been allowed to vote. It is believed that many Sabahans, given the prevailing conditions for travelling at the time -- Sabah being rural with not many communication infrastructures in place, hence communication lines were hardly available, were not even aware that a referendum to decide on their fate was being organised!

Here's a Wiki entry on the Commission's report : The Commission found that 'About one third of the population of each territory [i.e. of North Borneo and of Sarawak] strongly favours early realisation of Malaysia without too much concern over terms and conditions. Another third, many of them favourable to the Malaysia project, ask, with varying degrees of emphasis, for conditions and safeguards... The remaining third is divided between those who insist upon independence before Malaysia is considered and those who would strongly prefer to see British rule continue for some years to come' [12].

THIRDLY, it's all about the NEW federation's Constitution if you think about it! Alright... So let's say the Sabah referendum took place and let's further say that the results favoured joining a new political entity called the new Malaysia Federation. Let's accept that Sabah finally joined the new entity and that by virtue of Sabah's joining OLD Malaya, along with Sarawak and Singapore, the new Malaysia Federation was born on 16 September 1963 (instead of 31 August 1963 because Indonesia was protesting the inclusion of Sarawak.)

The problem with the new federation (MALAYSIA) is that it was created on the basis of the Constitution of the OLD Federation of Malaya States (which was actually a federation of Malaya sultanates found in today's West Malaysia) which was still in vigour. This is so because technically, a Constitution for the New Malaysia Federation was not yet finished although mind you it was being rushed by the Cobbold Commission. So there was a hiccup. But never mind, let's accept that they rushed the inking of the new Constitution (as opposed to the old 1957 Malaya federation constitution involving only the Malaya states/sultanates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Malaysia); it was finally drafted and contained a clear provision that NAMED ALL the new members: old [federation of] Malaya states, Sarawak, Singapore and Sabah.

Now, on the birth of the NEW Malaysia Federation: On 9 July 1963, the Governments of the Federation of Malaya, United Kingdom, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore signed the Malaysia Agreement 175 whereby Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo would federate with the existing States of the Federation of [the old] Malaya and the new federation so established would be called MALAYSIA FEDERATION. The Federal Parliament then passed the Malaysia Act 176 to amend Art. 1 of the Federal Constitution "to provide, inter alia, for the admission of the three new States and for the renaming of the Federation as Malaysia. The Act received the Royal assent on 26 August and was to come into force on 16 September 1963."

The proviso in the NEW Malaysia Constitution left no room for doubt that the new Federation of Malaysia held on the basis of the union of FOUR independent states namely MALAYA (old Malaya union or old federation of Malaya states/sultanates), SARAWAK, SINGAPORE, and finally, SABAH.

But Singapore's chief minister Lee Kuan Yew was not happy with the status quo. He opposed the federal policies of affirmative action, which granted special privileges to Malays guaranteed under Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. On 9th August 1965, after racial riots, Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman expelled Singapore from the new Malaysia federation. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Republic_of_Singapore.)

THEREFORE, when Singapore exited on 9th August 1965 from the newly formed "Malaysia Federation" whose newly framed Constitution specified that the Federation held based on the provision that the new Malaysia Federation held IF all 4 states were together, Singapore's expulsion rendered the existence of the new federation null and void.

NOTE THIS FROM A SABAH WRITER: "The absence of Singapore has directly resulted in the constitutional treaty, which included the constitutions of Sabah and Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia, being invalid." Read: S’pore’s exit nullified Malaysia Agreement September 26, 2011

The Malaysia Agreement combined with the various related documents including the Bill of Malaysia, is now called the Malaysia Act 1963.

All these documents also included entry requirements and the constitutional reference to Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. 

Agreement illegalThe Malaysia Agreement also required all partners to be signatories before a final decision was made. 

The intention of including all four signatories was to ensure they were in full knowledge of the agreement between the Federation of Malaya and the sovereign states of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore when forming Malaysia. 

Therefore, Malaysia has been described by various parties as a coalition of partners coming together to form a unified new country and with many of its respective sovereign features included. 

When Singapore was removed from the Malaysian Federation in 1965, questions arose and continued to persist as to what had happened to the Malaysia Agreement signed by all parties in 1963. 

The absence of Singapore has directly resulted in the constitutional treaty, which included the constitutions of Sabah and Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia, being invalid. 

The Malaysia Agreement is now neither valid nor legal in that the Federation of Malaysia is now an illegal entity because of the removal of Singapore which was one of the signatories to the agreement, which led to the origin of the federation itself.

In this context, it is only common sense that the continuing annexation of Sabah to a federation that does not constitutionally hold even by the new Malaysia Federation standard cannot be legal. In essence, the continuing annexation of Sabah by today's Peninsular Malaysia is not only illegal, it is also morally wrong. To validate the federation, a NEW REFERENDUM must be held. But Kuala Lumpur has not done it. We can only wonder why...

So why is Malaysia continuing to illegally annex Sabah? If Malaysia wants to legalise their hold on Sabah, it is only fair that a new referendum to ask the people of Sabah must be held. But Malaysia cannot continue to use underhanded tactics, and make the world think that their fantasmagorical historical fantasies are real!

By Anne de Bretagne

For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum

28 May 2012

Addendum: In All Good Muslims must ask for Najib's tongue to be cut off for lying 14 April 2013

Even Harvard-educated Jeffrey G Kitingan, a native of Sabah, leader and politician, had already disputed Najib's claim about "referendum" in Sabah and insisted that there was no referendum as such in 1962.  

In fact, Jeffrey Kitingan said that "Any talks between Malaysia and the Philippines must include Sabah because only the people of Sabah can decide what they want." 

A report by Luke Rintod for the Free Malaysia Today:

KOTA KINABALU: United Borneo Front (UBF) chairman Jeffrey Kitingan has disputed the context of the 1962 referendum which academics and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak claim confirmed Sabahans’ desire to be part of Malaysia. 

“There has never been a referendum on Sabah as stated by some academics. 

“In fact, the so-called referendum in 1962-63 was actually only a sampling survey of less than four percent of the Sabah population,” he said in response to Najib’s comments on Sabah yesterday.

RECOMMENDED READING:

An Essay on the Constitutional History of Malaysia [1995] 3CLJ xiv July 

A new federation in the making 

American support of the new Malaysia

North Borneo Dispute 

Fifteen Days of Independence

Singapore's exit nullified Malaysia Agreement

All Good Muslims must ask for Najib's tongue to be cut off for lying

THE COBBOLD COMMISSION: Lord Cobbold, former Governor of the Bank of England, chairman of the Commission, Wong Pow Nee, Chief Minister of Penang, Mohammed Ghazali Shafie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anthony Abell, former Governor of Sarawak, David Watherston, former Chief Secretary of Malaya.