The heirs of the Sultan of Sulu is demanding a compensation of US$14.92bil (RM62.6bil) after Malaysia was ruled to have violated a 1878 agreement by an arbitration court in Paris, France.
Based on a report by La Información, Spanish arbitrator, Gonzalo Stampa, issued the award in Paris, where the Malaysian government was ordered to pay the amount.
This comes after Malaysia allegedly violated the 1878 agreement signed by Sultan Jamal Al Alam, the Sultan of Sulu, Baron Overbeck and the founder of the British North Borneo Company, Alfred Dent. In exchange for pearls, bird’s nests, wood and other natural resources found in the region, Malaysia had to fork out an annual RM5,300 cession payment.
Malaysia had also discovered new natural resources including oil and gas in the 80’s and the 90’s.
The agreement basically acted as a natural resource lease of territories currently part of Malaysia, but belonged to the Spain at the time. But, Malaysia ended the payments in 2013 after highlighting that the region under contract should legitimately belong to Malaysia following out independence in 1957.
With that being said, the award allegedly states that the contract is an international private lease, of a commercial nature. It reportedly declares that Malaysia failed to comply with what was contracted in 1878 and demands a resolution dated from January 2013 to January 2044.
The arbitrator also granted a grace period for Malaysia to make the RM62.6bil payment within 3 months of the final award, in which during that time, no interest will be included.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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