North Borneo dispute

The status of the territory of Sabah, previously known as North Borneo, is currently disputed. At present, Sabah is part of Malaysia. However, the Philippines and the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu have made claims to the territory as well. The Philippine claim is presently dormant.

History

On 23 January 1878, in exchange for modern weapons with which to keep Spanish colonizers away from the Sulu Archipelago, the ruler of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul Alam, leased the territory of North Borneo to Gustavus von Overbeck, an Austrian who was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire's consul-general in Hong Kong. This was accomplished via a trading company belonging to von Overbeck's British partner Alfred Dent, and later via the British North Borneo Company. Von Overbeck procured the necessary firearms and also paid the Muslim dignitary an annual sum equivalent to 5,000 Malaysian dollars (now known as ringgit).

The key word in the was agreement was "padjak," which has been translated by American, Dutch and Spanish linguists to mean "lease" or "arrendiamento." The agreement further states explicitly that the rights to the territory may not be transferred to a nation or another company without the sultan's express permission.

In 1906 and in 1920, the United States formally reminded Great Britain that North Borneo did not belong to the Crown and was still part of the Sultanate of Sulu. However, the British did turn Sabah into a Crown leased Colony. The Philippine Constitution of 1941 states that the national territory of the Philippines included, among other things, "all other areas which belong to the Philippines on the basis of historical rights or legal claims." Malaysia was federated in 16 September 1963. Even before Sabah was incorporated into Malaysia, the Philippines sent delegations to London reminding the British Crown that Sabah belonged to the Philippines. [1]

Malaysia insists that Sabah is under the sovereignty of Malaysia based on the fact that under agreements that Baron von Overbeck and Alfred Dent secured with the Brunei Sultanate on 29 December 1877 and the Sulu Sultanate on 22 January 1878, the sultanate of Sulu agreed to lease Sabah to Malaysia. The British Crown renewed the lease on 15 July 1946, but finally ceded Sabah to Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Malaysia is still believed to be paying the annual rent to the Sultan of Sulu.

Malaysian control was further strengthened by two referenda: the first facilitated by the Cobbold Commission, from February to April 1962 and the second before the formation of Malaysia in September 1963. Both referenda recorded 70% of Sabahan population voting for Sabah to be part of Malaysia. Sabah's position within Malaysia was reinforced by the ruling made by the International Court of Justice for Pulau Sipadan and Pulau Ligitan to remain under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of Malaysia rather than Indonesia. However, Malaysia continues to consistently reject Philippine calls to bring the matter of Sabah's jurisdiction to the ICJ