I'm A Poor Sultan So I Send My Brother And Heavily Armed Followers To Sabah To Seek For Work And A Better Life.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — The self-styled Sultan of Sulu
Jamalul Kiram III has declared himself as the “poorest” Ruler in the
world, saying that he had consented to his brother leading a group of
armed followers to move to Sabah in search of work and a better life.
“I’m the poorest sultan in the world,”
Jamalul told newswire
Associated Press (AP) when interviewed in his tumble-down two-storey
residence in a poor section of Manila, the capital city of the
Philippines.
The 74-year-old, who is one of nine claimants to the Sulu Sultanate,
reportedly said that
his sultanate’s lack of power to help his followers
had sparked off their move into Sabah’s east coast over three weeks ago
in what is seen as an intrusion by Malaysia and has resulted in deadly
clashes with 52 Sulu militants and
eight Malaysian policemen dead.
His wife Fatima Celia said that
Jamalul’s family is now in debt due
to the costly expenses incurred when he campaigned to be a senator in
2007. He was supported by former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo
but did not win the position.
Jamalul was last year found to
have kidney failure and had to go for
dialysis, another costly burden which then caused his family to miss
monthly payments for their house and almost had to give up the place if
their friends had not assisted, Jamalul's wife reportedly said.
Jamalul, who also has a heart condition, now spends most of his time
in his bedroom — where there are two oxygen tanks — which also doubles
up as an office.
Yesterday,
The Philippine Star reported that the Kiram clan
had not intended to reclaim Sabah but wanted more money than the current
RM5,300 in annual stipend paid to the Sulu Sultanate, arguing that the
sum was not “even enough to pay rental for an apartment” in Manila.
The news portal quoted Acting Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman, saying
the message was relayed by
“Princess” Jacel, the oldest daughter of Jamalul, in one of the backroom
negotiations between the clan and Manila for a peaceful solution to the
Lahad Datu standoff.
“Hataman also emphasised that Princess Jacel told them they did not
have plans to reclaim Sabah, and that they were only asking for a bigger
payment because the current rate was not even enough to pay rental for
an apartment,” the report said.
The honorarium and ownership over the state was reported to be among
the three issues raised by the sultanate with the Aquino administration
before the Sabah standoff. The annual payment to the Kirams is
distributed to all members of the family.
Jamalul had insisted that Sabah belongs to the Sulu sultanate and
that it had merely leased North Borneo in 1878 to the British North
Borneo Company for an annual payment of 5,000 Malayan dollars then,
which was increased to 5,300 Malayan dollars in 1903.
Sabah, however, joined Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia
in 1963, after which
Malaysia continued paying an annual stipend of
RM5,300 to the Sulu sultanate on the basis of the sultanate ceding the
Borneo state.
Two Malaysian Police Officers were Killed While Three Wounded, When THE HEAVILY ARMED "JOB SEEKERS" Use Mortar To Attack Our Security Foces, Luring Them out by Waving The White Flag To Negotiate.
Six Malaysian Police Officers were then killed during an ambush and MUTILATED by the so called "JOB SEEKERS!" in Semporna.
1:06 PM
Babyrina
