Govt confident Malaysia will win over Sulu claims on Sabah, says Wan Junaidi

Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. Photo credit: Dato Sri Dr Haji Wan Junaidi Bin Tuanku Jaafar Facebook page

KUCHING, Aug 5: The government is confident that actions and strategies implemented to address Sulu claims over Sabah will yield positive results with the support of all Malaysians.

Minister in the Prime Ministerā€™s Department (Law and Parliament) Dato Sr Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said this following the first special task force meeting held Wednesday (Aug 3) in Kuala Lumpur.

ā€œIn general, the government will ensure victory for the sake of national interest and so that national sovereignty remains preserved,ā€ he said in a statement today.

Wan Junaidi, who chaired the meeting, said the matters discussed were legal actions taken by the Malaysian government in Spain and France, including the annual RM5,300 payment to the alleged heirs.

In terms of the latest development, he said the government succeeded on July 12 in getting the Paris court to suspend the enforcement of the ā€˜Final Awardā€™ issued by Spanish arbitrator Dr Gonzalo Stampa on Feb 28, 2022.

Wan Junaidi explained that the ā€˜Final Awardā€™ did not touch on issues of the capture of Sabah territories or the State’s sovereignty by the alleged Sulu sultanate heirs.

ā€œThe special task force also noted that the appointment of Dr Stampa as arbitrator and all procedural actions made by him was cancelled based on the decision of the High Court of Madrid dated June 29, 2021.

ā€œThe High Court has also ruled that the ā€˜Partial Award on Jurisdictionā€™ issued by Dr Stampa on May 25, 2020, is null and void,ā€ he said. ā€” DayakDaily