On February 12, 2013, a group of reportedly armed Filipino gunmen illegally entered the small town of Lahad Datu located on the island of Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah, saying they have links with the now-defunct Sultanate of Sulu in the Philippines. [25] Malaysian police and army officials secured the village asking the alleged intruders to peacefully leave. Officials of the Malaysian government said they suspected the men were a faction of a Philippine Muslim rebel group. The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs denied the Malaysian claim, stating that the intruders were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land. [26] [27]
After reading this, my interest in the history of the Sulu Sultanate sparked up. I then noticed that the Wikipedia article of the sultanate is incomplete and outdated. As I tried to improve the article, I met some obstacles, namely, the lack of credible sources and conflicting claims on the identity of the real pretender to the throne. A certain Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram claims to be the rightful pretender, even showing documents purportedly issued by then-President Cory Aquino. The outdated Wikipedia article lists Jamalul Kiram III as the "current" sultan. However, I doubted this as he was reportedly crowned during the later years of the Marcos era. Finally, after reading newspaper articles, I found out that Esmail (Ismael) Dalus Kiram II is the current ''de facto'' recognized pretender to the throne. I did the honor of writing an encyclopedic article about him in Wikipedia, as follows:
Ismael Kiram II is the current Sultan of Sulu [1] in Sulu, southern Philippines. He was designated as Sultan in 1999 and was subsequently crowned in 2001. He is the currently recognized heir of the Sulu Sultanate, as other unrecognized heirs and pretenders to the throne continue to claim the heritage of the now-defunct sultanate. [2]
Ismael Kiram II
| ||
| Titles in pretence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mohammad Akijal Atti | — TITULAR — Sultan of Sulu 1999 with Jamalul Kiram III 1999-2012 Reason for succession failure: Sultanate abolished in 1917 | Incumbent Heir: Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram |
Opinion (A Possible Solution):
The incident made me aware of the complex political situation in Sabah, Malaysia. I personally believe that an autonomous "multinational state" (subject to both Malaysia and the Philippines) be set up in Sabah and Sulu to finally finish the North Borneo dispute. In layman's term, "why not share the land?"
I shall explain my theory in simple words:
1. The Sultanate of Sulu (if possible, merged with the Bangsamoro Sultanate) shall comprise of North Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago. This state shall be part of BOTH the Republic of the Philippines and the Malaysian Federation.
2. All citizens of the Sulu Sultanate shall be legally considered Malaysian AND Filipino.
3. The Royal House of Sulu shall officially be recognized as the ruling house.
4. All citizens of the Sultanate shall be given a passport that will allow them to enter both Malaysia and the Philippines at will.
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