The Sabah Dispute John Valro Dominguez The Land Below the Wind, SABAH is the second largest

state in Malaysia; which consists of 13 states and 3 federal territories. With an area that spans !,"## s$. %ilo&etres, topped with a coastline s'rro'nded (y the So'th )hina Sea in the West, the S'l' Sea in the *ortheast and )ele(es Sea in the +ast, Sa(ah sits on the northern,&ost part of Borneo; the third largest island in the world. Blessed with an a('ndance of nat'ral reso'rces and 'ni&agina(le (ea'ty of its nat're, Sa(ah is the &elting pot of 'ni$'e and distincti-e c'lt'ral identities and ethnicity of its people. +cono&y. +/port of petrole'&, pal& oil and cacao )apital. 0ota 0ina(al' 1ang di,2ert'a *egeri. 3'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 of the 2hilippines o-er &'ch of the eastern part of Sa(ah. Sa(ah was %nown as *orth Borneo prior to the for&ation of the Malaysian federation. The 2hilippines, presenting itself as the s'ccessor state of the S'ltanate of S'l', retains a 9dor&ant clai&9 on Sa(ah on the (asis that the territory was only leased to the British *orth Borneo )o&pany in 1: :, with the so-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 9non,iss'e9 as it interprets the 1: : agree&ent as that of cession and that it dee&s that the residents of Sa(ah had e/ercised their right to self,deter&ination when they =oined the Malaysian federation in 1>43. ?n !! 3an'ary 1: :, an agree&ent was signed (etween the S'ltanate of S'l' and British co&&ercial syndicate ;Alfred @ent and Baron -on ?-er(ec%<, which stip'lated that *orth Borneo was either ceded or leased ;depending on translation 'sed< to the British syndicate in ret'rn for pay&ent of "### Malayan @ollars per year. ?n !! April 1>#3, S'ltan 3a&al'l 0ira& signed a doc'&ent %nown as 9)onfir&ation of cession of certain islands9, 'nder which he grant and ceded additional islands in the neigh(orhood of the &ainland of *orth Borneo fro& Banggi 7sland to Si('%' Bay to British *orth Borneo )o&pany. This )onfir&atory @eed of 1>#3 &a%es it %nown and 'nderstood (etween the two parties that the islands &entioned were incl'ded in the cession of the districts and islands &entioned in the !!nd 3an'ary, 1: : Agree&ent. Additional cession &oney is 3## dollars a year and arrears for past occ'pation 3,!## dollars. The s'& ",### dollars a year paya(le e-ery year then increased to ",3## dollars a year paya(le e-ery year. The )onfir&atory @eed of 1>#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: :.

The %ey word in the agree&ent is 9pad=a%9, a Malay ter& which was translated (y Spanish ling'ists in 1: : and (y A&erican anthropologists H. ?tley Beyer and Harold )on%lin in 1>A4 as 9arrenda&iento9 or 9lease9. The British, on the other hand, 'sed the interpretation of historian *a=ee( Mitry Salee(y in 1>#: and Willia& Beorge Ma/well and Willia& S'&&er Bi(son in 1>!A as 9grant and cede9. 7t can (e arg'ed howe-er, that 9pad=a%9 &eans 9&ortgage9 or 9pawn9 or e-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## ringgit to the legal co'nsel of the heirs of the S'ltan of S'l'. Malaysia considers the a&o'nt an ann'al CcessionD pay&ent for the land, while the s'ltanEs descendants consider it Crent.D The a(o-e &entioned S'l' clai& is resting on the treaty which was signed (y S'ltan 3a&alal'laFa& of S'l' appointing Baron de ?-er(ec% as @ato Bendahara and 6a=a Sanda%an on !! 3an'ary 1: :. Howe-er, there is another treaty which was signed earlier (y S'ltan A(d'l Mo&in of Br'nei appointing Baron de ?-er(ec% as the Mahara=a Sa(ah, 6a=ah Baya and Sanda%an signed on !> @ece&(er 1: , and granting the territories of 2aitan 'p til Si('co 6i-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 the control of the Br'nei S'ltanate. As attested (y 7nternational )o'rt of 3'stice, 'ndisp'tedly, the S'ltan of S'l' relin$'ished the so-ereign rights o-er all his possessions in fa-o'r of Spain, (ased on Bases of 2eace and )apit'lation signed (y S'ltan of S'l' and Spain in 3olo on the !! 3'ly 1: :. 7n 1::", Breat Britain, Ber&any and Spain signed the Madrid 2rotocol to ce&ent Spanish infl'ence o-er the islands of the 2hilippines. 7n the sa&e agree&ent, Spain relin$'ished all clai& to *orth Borneo which had (elong to the S'ltanate in the past, in fa-o'r of Breat Britain. The Spanish Government renounces, as far as regards the British Government, all claims of sovereignty over the territories of the continent of Borneo, which belong, or which have belonged in the past to the Sultan of Sulu (Jolo), and which comprise the neighbouring islands of Balambangan, Banguey, and Malawali, as well as all those comprised within a one of three maritime 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 2hilippines ;which was effecti-e then< stated that the co'ntryGs national territory incl'ded, a&ong other things, 9all other areas which (elong to the 2hilippines on the (asis of historical rights or legal clai&s9. 2resent,day Malaysia was created on 14 Septe&(er 1>43 ;incl'ding Sa(ah<, ('t e-en (efore that, the 2hilippines had sent delegations to London that re&inded The )rown of Sa(ahGs (elonging to the 2hilippines. The S'ltanate of S'l' was granted the north,eastern part of the territory as a priFe for helping the S'ltan of Br'nei against his ene&ies and fro& then on that part of Borneo was recognised as part of the S'ltan of S'l'Gs so-ereignty. The 1: : cessionHrental pay&ent was contin'ed 'ntil the independence and for&ation of the Malaysian federation in 1>43 together

with Singapore, Sarawa% and the states of Malaya. As of !##A, the Malaysian +&(assy to the 2hilippines had (een paying cessionHrental &oney a&o'nting to ISJ1,"## per year ;aro'nd 4,3## Malaysian 6inggits< to the heirs of the S'ltanate of S'l'.K!>L This is an act of British go-ern&ent (efore the federation and contin'ed to the todayGs go-ern&ent of Malaysia. The S'ltan of S'l' relin$'ished the so-ereign rights o-er all his possessions in fa-o'r of Spain, (ased on Bases of 2eace and )apit'lation signed (y S'ltan of S'l' and Spain in 3olo on !! 3'ly 1: :. 7n 1::", Spain relin$'ished all of its clai& to Borneo to theInited 0ingdo& of Breat Britain 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 of S'l'. A&erica posited the clai& on the pre&ise that Spain ne-er had ac$'ired so-ereignty o-er *orth Borneo, and th's did not ha-e the right to transfer clai&s of so-ereignty o-er *orth Borneo to the Inited 0ingdo& in the Madrid 2rotocol of 1::". This arg'&ent howe-er contradicts with the treaty &ade (etween Spain and S'ltanate of S'l' in 1: :, in which it is e/pressly stated that all of the territory of S'ltanate of S'l' is relin$'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 to Spanish so-ereignty ;when in fact the e/cl'sion &erely referred to Spanish protection offered to the S'ltan of S'l' in cases he was attac%ed<. With the Madrid 2rotocol (eing ratified, the British Bo-ern&ent proceeded with the ad&inistration of *orth Borneo, and e-ent'ally with the anne/ation the territory of *orth Borneo as a )rown )olony on 3'ly 1#, 1>A4 ?n 1! Septe&(er 1>4!, d'ring 2resident @iosdado MacapagalGs ad&inistration, the territory of *orth Borneo, and the f'll so-ereignty, title and do&inion o-er it were ceded (y then reigning S'ltan of S'l', M'ha&&ad +s&ail +. 0ira& 7, to the 2hilippines. The cession effecti-ely ga-e the 2hilippine go-ern&ent the f'll a'thority to p'rs'e their clai& in international co'rts. The 2hilippines (ro%e diplo&atic relations with Malaysia after the federation had incl'ded Sa(ah in 1>43 ('t pro(a(ly res'&ed it 'nofficially thro'gh the Manila Accord where the 2hilippines &ade it clear that its position on the incl'sion of *orth Borneo in the 8ederation of Malaysia is s'(=ect to the final o'tco&e of the 2hilippine clai& to *orth Borneo, and the representati-es of 7ndonesia and 8ederation of Malaya seconded that the incl'sion of *orth Borneo into the afore&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 Marcos was training a tea& of &ilitants on )orregidor %nown as ?peration Merde%a for infiltration into Sa(ah. The plan failed in the e-ent %nown as the 3a(idah &assacre. @iplo&atic ties were res'&ed in 1>:> (eca'se s'cceeding 2hilippine ad&inistrations ha-e placed the clai& in the (ac% ('rner in the interest of p'rs'ing cordial econo&ic and sec'rity relations with 0'ala L'&p'r. 6ep'(lic Act "AA4, which too% effect on 1: Septe&(er 1>4:, regards Sa(ah as a territory 9o-er which the 6ep'(lic of the 2hilippines has ac$'ired do&inion and so-ereignty.9 ?n 14 3'ly !#11, the S'pre&e )o'rt r'led that the 2hilippine clai& o-er Sa(ah is retained and &ay (e p'rs'ed in the f't're. To date, Malaysia contin'es to consistently re=ect 2hilippine calls to resol-e the &atter of Sa(ahGs ='risdiction to the 7nternational )o'rt of 3'stice. Sa(ah sees the clai& &ade (y the

2hilippinesG Moro leader *'r Mis'ari to ta%e Sa(ah to 7nternational )o'rt of 3'stice ;7)3< as a non,iss'e and th's dis&issed the clai&. Malaysias Claim 2rior to the for&ation of the Malaysia, two co&&issions of en$'iry -isited *orth Borneo ;along with neigh(o'ring Sarawa%< in order to esta(lish the state of p'(lic opinion there regarding &erger with Malaya ;and Singapore<. The co&&ission was &andated at addressing self, deter&ination of the people of Sa(ah, i.e., the right of the people of Sa(ah to freely deter&ine their own political stat's and freely p'rs'e their own econo&ic, social and c'lt'ral de-elop&ent. The first co&&ission, 's'ally %nown as the )o((old )o&&ission was esta(lished (y the Malayan and British go-ern&ents and was headed (y Lord )o((old, along with two representati-es of Malaya and Britain ;('t not either of the territories 'nder in-estigation<. The )o&&ission fo'nd that GA(o't one third of the pop'lation of each territory Ki.e. of *orth Borneo and of Sarawa%L strongly fa-o'rs early realisation of Malaysia witho't too &'ch concern o-er ter&s and conditions. Another third, &any of the& fa-o'ra(le to the Malaysia pro=ect, as%, with -arying degrees of e&phasis, for conditions and safeg'ards. The re&aining third is di-ided (etween those who insist 'pon independence (efore Malaysia is considered and those who wo'ld strongly prefer to see British r'le contin'e for so&e years to co&eG. KA1L The )o&&ission p'(lished its report on A'g'st 1, 1>4! and had &ade se-eral reco&&endations. Inli%e in Singapore, howe-er, no referend'& was e-er cond'cted in *orth Borneo and Sarawa%.KA!L 7ndonesia and the 2hilippines re=ected the findings of the )o((old )o&&ission. 7n 1>43, a tripartite &eeting was held in Manila (etween 7ndonesian president Soe%arno, 2hilippines president @iosdado Macapagal and Malayan 2ri&e Minister T'n%' A(d'l 6ah&an. An agree&ent, %nown as the Manila Accord, was signed. 7t stip'lated that the incl'sion of *orth Borneo in the Malaysiawill not pre='dice either the clai& or any right there'nder (y the 2hilippines to the territory. The three heads of state agreed to petition the I* to send another co&&ission of en$'iry and the 2hilippines and 7ndonesia agreed to drop their o(=ection to 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, Bhana, 2a%istan, 3apanand 3ordan. The MissionGs report, a'thored (y I* Secretary,Beneral I Thant fo'nd Ma siFea(le &a=ority of the peopleG in fa-o'r of =oining Malaysia. Altho'gh 7ndonesia and the 2hilippines s'(se$'ently re=ected the reportGs findings N and 7ndonesia contin'ed its se&i,&ilitary policy of %onfrontasi towards 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 3. +dgardo L. 2aras The World Boo% +ncyclopedia 1>> http.HHen.wi%ipedia.orgHwi%iH*orthOBorneoOdisp'te

http.HHwww.sa(ah.go-.&yH&ainHen,BBHHo&eHA(o't http.HHen.wi%ipedia.orgHwi%iHSa(ah