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The Sabah Dispute

John Valro Dominguez

The Land Below the Wind, SABAH is the second largest state in Malaysia; which consists of 13states and 3 federal territories. With an area that spans !,"## s$. %ilo&etres, topped with acoastline s'rro'nded (y the So'th )hina Sea in the West, the S'l' Sea in the *ortheast and)ele(es Sea in the +ast, Sa(ah sits on the northern&ost part of Borneo; the third largest islandin the world. Blessed with an a('ndance of nat'ral reso'rces and 'ni&agina(le (ea'ty of itsnat're, Sa(ah is the &elting pot of 'ni$'e and distincti-e c'lt'ral identities and ethnicity of itspeople.

+cono&y +/port of petrole'&, pal& oil and cacao

)apital 0ota 0ina(al'

ang di2ert'a *egeri 'har Mahir'ddin

)hief Minister M'sa A&an

Area 3,431 s$.%&

2op'lation 3,1!#, ###55 )li&ate tropical

*ational Lang'age Bahasa

)'rrency 6inggit

2eople Sa(ahans

6eligion 7sla&

8oreingers )hinese

The *orth Borneo disp'te refers to the territorial disp'te(etween Malaysia and the 6ep'(lic ofthe 2hilippines o-er &'ch of the eastern part ofSa(ah. Sa(ah was %nown as *orthBorneoprior to the for&ation of the Malaysian federation. The 2hilippines, presenting itself as

the s'ccessor stateof the S'ltanate of S'l', retains a 9dor&ant clai&9 on Sa(ah on the (asisthat the territory was only leased to the British *orth Borneo )o&panyin 1::, with theso-ereignty of the S'ltanate and s'(se$'ently the 6ep'(lic< o-er the territory ne-er ha-ing(een relin$'ished. Howe-er, Malaysia considers this disp'te as a 9noniss'e9 as it interprets the1:: agree&ent as that of cessionand that it dee&s that the residents of Sa(ah had e/ercisedtheir right to selfdeter&inationwhen they =oined the Malaysian federation in 1>43.

?n !! an'ary 1::, an agree&ent was signed (etween the S'ltanate of S'l' and Britishco&&ercial syndicate Alfred @entand Baron -on ?-er(ec%#3 &'st (e -iewed in the light of the 1:: Agree&ent.The British *orth Borneo )o&pany entered into a )onfir&atory @eed with the S'ltanate of S'l'in 1>#3, there(y confir&ing and ratifying what was done in 1::.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_disputehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Successor_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanate_of_Suluhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concession_(territory)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_Chartered_Companyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Denthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_von_Overbeckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banggi_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banggi_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_disputehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Successor_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanate_of_Suluhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concession_(territory)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_Chartered_Companyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Denthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_von_Overbeckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banggi_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banggi_Island

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The %ey word in the agree&ent is 9pad=a%9, a Malay ter& which was translated (y Spanishling'ists in 1:: and (y A&erican anthropologists H. ?tley Beyerand Harold )on%linin 1>4 as9arrenda&iento9 or 9lease9. The British, on the other hand, 'sed the interpretation of historian*a=ee( Mitry Salee(y in 1>#: and Willia& eorge Ma/well and Willia& S'&&er i(son in 1>!as 9grant and cede9. 7t can (e arg'ed howe-er, that 9pad=a%9 &eans 9&ortgage9 or 9pawn9 ore-en 9wholesale9, as per the conte&porary &eaning of 9pad=a%9 in S'l'.

+-ery year, the Malaysian +&(assy in the 2hilippines iss'es a chec% in the a&o'nt of",3##ringgitto the legal co'nsel of the heirs of the S'ltan of S'l'. Malaysia considers thea&o'nt an ann'al CcessionD pay&ent for the land, while the s'ltanEs descendants consider itCrent.D

The a(o-e &entioned S'l' clai& is resting on the treaty which was signed (y S'ltana&alal'laFa& of S'l' appointing Baron de ?-er(ec% as @ato Bendahara and 6a=a Sanda%anon !! an'ary 1::. Howe-er, there is another treaty which was signed earlier (y S'ltan A(d'lMo&in of Br'nei appointing Baron de ?-er(ec% as the Mahara=a Sa(ah, 6a=ah aya andSanda%an signed on !> @ece&(er 1:, and granting the territories of 2aitan 'p til Si('co6i-er, which o-erlaps with the clai& (y S'l' S'ltanate of their do&inion in Sa(ah. 7n 1:, the

Br'nei S'ltanate then still (elie-ed and &aintained that the territory was in fact still 'nder thecontrol of the Br'nei S'ltanate.

As attested (y 7nternational )o'rt of 'stice, 'ndisp'tedly, the S'ltan of S'l' relin$'ished theso-ereign rights o-er all his possessions in fa-o'r of Spain, (ased on Bases of 2eace and)apit'lation signed (y S'ltan of S'l' and Spain in olo on the !! 'ly 1::.

7n 1::", reat Britain, er&any and Spain signed the Madrid 2rotocol to ce&ent Spanishinfl'ence o-er the islands of the 2hilippines. 7n the sa&e agree&ent, Spain relin$'ished allclai& to *orth Borneo which had (elong to the S'ltanate in the past, in fa-o'r of reat Britain.

The Spanish Government renounces, as far as regards the British Government, all claims ofsovereignty over the territories of the continent of Borneo, which belong, or which havebelonged in the past to the Sultan of Sulu (Jolo), and which comprise the neighbouring islandsof Balambangan, Banguey, and Malawali, as well as all those comprised within a one of threemaritime leagues from the coast, and which form part of the territories administered by the!ompany styled the "British #orth Borneo !ompany$%

&'rticle , Madrid rotocol of *++

Philippines Claim:

The 1>3" )onstit'tion of the 2hilippineswhich was effecti-e then< stated that the co'ntryGs

national territory incl'ded, a&ong other things, 9all other areas which (elong to the 2hilippineson the (asis of historical rights or legal clai&s9. 2resentday Malaysia was created on 14Septe&(er 1>43 incl'ding Sa(ah

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withSingapore, Sarawa%and the states of Malaya. As of !##, the Malaysian +&(assy to the2hilippines had (een paying cessionrental &oney a&o'nting to ISJ1,"## per year aro'nd4,3##Malaysian 6inggits< to the heirs of the S'ltanate of S'l'.K!>This is an act of Britishgo-ern&ent (efore the federation and contin'ed to the todayGs go-ern&ent of Malaysia.

The S'ltan of S'l' relin$'ished the so-ereign rights o-er all his possessions in fa-o'r of Spain,

(ased on Bases of 2eace and )apit'lation signed (y S'ltan of S'l' and Spain in oloon !!'ly 1::. 7n 1::", Spain relin$'ished all of its clai& to Borneo to theInited 0ingdo& of reatBritain and 7reland in the Madrid 2rotocol of 1::".

7n spite of that, in 1>#4 and 1>!# the Inited States, which (y then colonised the 2hilippines,for&ally re&inded the Inited 0ingdo& that Sa(ah (elonged not to the& ('t to the S'ltanate ofS'l'. A&erica posited the clai& on the pre&ise that Spain ne-er had ac$'ired so-ereignty o-er*orth Borneo, and th's did not ha-e the right to transfer clai&s of so-ereignty o-er *orthBorneo to the Inited 0ingdo& in the Madrid 2rotocol of 1::". This arg'&ent howe-ercontradicts with the treaty &ade (etween Spain and S'ltanate of S'l' in 1::, in which it ise/pressly stated that all of the territory of S'ltanate of S'l' is relin$'ished to Spain.8'rther&ore, the A&erican -iew &ay (e (ased on an erroneo's interpretation of that part of the

1:: and the earlier 1:34 treaties, that e/cl'ded *orth Borneo fro& the S'l' transfer toSpanish so-ereignty when in fact the e/cl'sion &erely referred to Spanish protection offered tothe S'ltan of S'l' in cases he was attac%ed4

?n 1! Septe&(er 1>4!, d'ring 2resident @iosdado MacapagalGs ad&inistration, the territoryof *orth Borneo, and the f'll so-ereignty, title and do&inion o-er it were ceded (y then reigningS'ltan of S'l', M'ha&&ad +s&ail +. 0ira& 7, to the 2hilippines. The cession effecti-ely ga-ethe 2hilippine go-ern&ent the f'll a'thority to p'rs'e their clai& in international co'rts. The2hilippines (ro%e diplo&atic relations with Malaysia after the federation had incl'ded Sa(ah in1>43 ('t pro(a(ly res'&ed it 'nofficially thro'gh the Manila Accordwhere the 2hilippines &ade

it clear that its position on the incl'sion of *orth Borneo in the 8ederation of Malaysia is s'(=ectto the final o'tco&e of the 2hilippine clai& to *orth Borneo, and the representati-es of7ndonesia and 8ederation of Malaya seconded that the incl'sion of *orth Borneo into theafore&entioned 8ederation 9wo'ld not pre='dice either the clai& or any right there'nder9.

7t was re-ealed later in 1>4: that 2resident 8erdinand Marcoswas training a tea& of &ilitantson )orregidor %nown as ?peration Merde%afor infiltration into Sa(ah. The plan failed in thee-ent %nown as the a(idah &assacre.

@iplo&atic ties were res'&ed in 1>:> (eca'se s'cceeding 2hilippine ad&inistrations ha-eplaced the clai& in the (ac% ('rner in the interest of p'rs'ing cordial econo&ic and sec'rityrelations with 0'ala L'&p'r.

6ep'(lic Act "4, which too% effect on 1: Septe&(er 1>4:, regards Sa(ah as a territory 9o-erwhich the 6ep'(lic of the 2hilippines has ac$'ired do&inion and so-ereignty.9 ?n 14 'ly !#11,the S'pre&e )o'rtr'led that the 2hilippine clai& o-er Sa(ah is retained and &ay (e p'rs'ed inthe f't're.

To date, Malaysia contin'es to consistently re=ect 2hilippine calls to resol-e the &atter ofSa(ahGs ='risdiction to the 7nternational )o'rt of 'stice. Sa(ah sees the clai& &ade (y the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Malayahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_Ringgithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_House_of_Suluhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolo,_Suluhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Colonial_Period_(Philippines)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Accordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Merdekahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabidah_massacrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Malayahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_Ringgithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_House_of_Suluhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolo,_Suluhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Colonial_Period_(Philippines)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Accordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Merdekahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabidah_massacrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice

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2hilippinesG Moro leader *'r Mis'ari to ta%e Sa(ah to 7nternational )o'rt of 'stice 7)< as anoniss'e and th's dis&issed the clai&.

Malaysias Claim

2rior to thefor&ation of the Malaysia, two co&&issions of en$'iry -isited *orth Borneo alongwith neigh(o'ring Sarawa%< in order to esta(lish the state of p'(lic opinion there regarding&erger with Malaya and Singapore4! and had &ade se-eral reco&&endations. Inli%e inSingapore, howe-er, no referend'&was e-er cond'cted in *orth Borneo and Sarawa%.K!

7ndonesia and the 2hilippines re=ected the findings of the )o((old )o&&ission. 7n 1>43, atripartite &eeting was held in Manila (etween 7ndonesian president Soe%arno, 2hilippinespresident @iosdado Macapagaland Malayan 2ri&e MinisterT'n%' A(d'l 6ah&an. Anagree&ent, %nown as the Manila Accord, was signed. 7t stip'lated that the incl'sion of *orthBorneo in the Malaysiawill not pre='dice either the clai& or any right there'nder (ythe 2hilippines to the territory. The three heads of state agreed to petition the I* to sendanother co&&ission of en$'iry and the 2hilippines and 7ndonesia agreed to drop their o(=ectionto the for&ation of Malaysia if the new co&&ission fo'nd pop'lar opinion in the territories in

fa-o'r. The I* Mission to Borneo was th's esta(lished, co&prising &e&(ers of the I*Secretariat fro&Argentina,BraFil, )eylon,)Fechoslo-a%ia,hana, 2a%istan, apanand ordan.The MissionGs report, a'thored (yI* SecretaryeneralI Thantfo'nd a siFea(le &a=ority ofthe peopleG in fa-o'r of =oining Malaysia. Altho'gh 7ndonesia and the 2hilippines s'(se$'entlyre=ected the reportGs findings N and 7ndonesia contin'ed its se&i&ilitary policyof %onfrontasitowards Malaysia N the report in effect sealed the creation of Malaysia.

Sources:

CAn o'tline of the 2hilippine )lai& to Sa(ahD (y Atty. Merlin M. Magallona

C7nternational Law and World 2oliticsD (y . +dgardo L. 2aras

The World Boo% +ncyclopedia 1>>

httpen.wi%ipedia.orgwi%i*orthOBorneoOdisp'te

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobbold_Commissionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_national_referendum,_1962http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_national_referendum,_1962http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-42http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soekarnohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunku_Abdul_Rahmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Accordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceylonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovakiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Secretary-Generalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_Thanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konfrontasihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_disputehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobbold_Commissionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_national_referendum,_1962http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_national_referendum,_1962http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarawakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute#cite_note-42http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soekarnohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunku_Abdul_Rahmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Accordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceylonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovakiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Secretary-Generalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_Thanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konfrontasihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_dispute

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httpwww.sa(ah.go-.&y&ainenBHo&eA(o't

httpen.wi%ipedia.orgwi%iSa(ah

http://www.sabah.gov.my/main/en-GB/Home/Abouthttp://www.sabah.gov.my/main/en-GB/Home/Abouthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabahhttp://www.sabah.gov.my/main/en-GB/Home/Abouthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabah