The heirs of Sulu Sultanate have indicated that they want an increase in their annual 'rental fees'.
MANILA: Half a century after the Philippine government formally staked its claim on Sabah, on behalf of the Sultanate of Sulu, the history of that claim took an ugly turn when gunfight erupted between the sultan’s followers and Malaysian security forces today.
The followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III have been holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah, to press their claim since since Feb 12.
Some 200 armed and unarmed followers of Kiram face possible arrest for defying Philippine President Beningo Aquino’s appeal to return to the Philippines. They also face violent extraction should the Malaysian authorities decide to use force to remove them.
“The Malaysian Standard” in a special report said the issues are sensitive, convoluted and involved the basis and motivation of the claim, the heirs, the payment of rental fees, and Malaysia’s role in the government’s peace deal with the Muslims in Mindanao.
The heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu had previously indicated that they wanted an increase in the annual “rental fees” that they had been receiving from the Malaysian government, which is RM5,300 or roughly P70,000.
One of the Sultan’s sons, Abdula Kiram, once lamented how measly the annual rental was compared with the billions of dollars that Sabah had been generating for the Malaysian government.
Hence, the Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his followers could be eyeing a piece of the oil and gas pie that Malaysia has been monopolising.
Sabah is just a fourth of the Philippines’ landmass, yet it is richly blessed with oil and gas, contributing 14% of Malaysia’s natural gas and 30% of its crude oil reserves.
Sabah’s oil and gas industry has been operating for over 30 years, and in 2009 its oil and gas were the biggest contributor to the island’s gross domestic product.
Sabah’s oil reserves were calculated at 1.5 billion barrels in 2011, but new oilfields have been discovered since to raise the estimate substantially. The island’s gas reserves have been estimated at 11-trillion cubic feet, with four new oilfields being found in the waters in the last two years.
In 2011, Dr Hiew King Cheu, the MP for Kota Kinabalu, claimed that, as of March 31, 2011, Sabah had 15 oil wells producing as many as 192,000 barrels a day. At that output, he said, Sabah was actually producing the equivalent of RM53 million (P696 million) a day.
By contrast, the Philippines produces only 6,000 barrels of oil daily, according to data from the Energy Department. In 2012 the Philippines produced 1.64 million barrels of oil of which the Galoc oilfield accounted for 1.482 million barrels, which was 29% lower than the previous year.
The country’s biggest source of crude oil, the Galoc oil field, is expected to contribute P1.74 billion to the national coffers from 2012 to 2015, which is a far cry from Malaysia’s 5% yearly estimated royalty of about P12.5 billion from Sabah’s oil production.
With billions in existing and potential windfall from Sabah’s natural resources, it is apparently clear how much of a “national interest” Sabah is to any controlling entity.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/sulu-sultanate-eying-the-riches-of-sabah/#sthash.xzEpT6m9.dpuf
The followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III have been holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah, to press their claim since since Feb 12.
Some 200 armed and unarmed followers of Kiram face possible arrest for defying Philippine President Beningo Aquino’s appeal to return to the Philippines. They also face violent extraction should the Malaysian authorities decide to use force to remove them.
“The Malaysian Standard” in a special report said the issues are sensitive, convoluted and involved the basis and motivation of the claim, the heirs, the payment of rental fees, and Malaysia’s role in the government’s peace deal with the Muslims in Mindanao.
The heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu had previously indicated that they wanted an increase in the annual “rental fees” that they had been receiving from the Malaysian government, which is RM5,300 or roughly P70,000.
One of the Sultan’s sons, Abdula Kiram, once lamented how measly the annual rental was compared with the billions of dollars that Sabah had been generating for the Malaysian government.
Hence, the Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his followers could be eyeing a piece of the oil and gas pie that Malaysia has been monopolising.
Sabah is just a fourth of the Philippines’ landmass, yet it is richly blessed with oil and gas, contributing 14% of Malaysia’s natural gas and 30% of its crude oil reserves.
Sabah’s oil and gas industry has been operating for over 30 years, and in 2009 its oil and gas were the biggest contributor to the island’s gross domestic product.
Sabah’s oil reserves were calculated at 1.5 billion barrels in 2011, but new oilfields have been discovered since to raise the estimate substantially. The island’s gas reserves have been estimated at 11-trillion cubic feet, with four new oilfields being found in the waters in the last two years.
In 2011, Dr Hiew King Cheu, the MP for Kota Kinabalu, claimed that, as of March 31, 2011, Sabah had 15 oil wells producing as many as 192,000 barrels a day. At that output, he said, Sabah was actually producing the equivalent of RM53 million (P696 million) a day.
By contrast, the Philippines produces only 6,000 barrels of oil daily, according to data from the Energy Department. In 2012 the Philippines produced 1.64 million barrels of oil of which the Galoc oilfield accounted for 1.482 million barrels, which was 29% lower than the previous year.
The country’s biggest source of crude oil, the Galoc oil field, is expected to contribute P1.74 billion to the national coffers from 2012 to 2015, which is a far cry from Malaysia’s 5% yearly estimated royalty of about P12.5 billion from Sabah’s oil production.
With billions in existing and potential windfall from Sabah’s natural resources, it is apparently clear how much of a “national interest” Sabah is to any controlling entity.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/sulu-sultanate-eying-the-riches-of-sabah/#sthash.xzEpT6m9.dpuf
25 comments:
This man is to crazy!
He is only interested in the wealth of Sabah.
Orang tua ni memang nak kena ni.
Now they had created chaos!
Mau banyak orang mati baru drg puas hati baini.
Sabah has lots of things they dont have.
Sekarang nak cetus perang lagi.
Shooting is truly unforgivable.
This is like an animal act.
Sandi eh dia ni.
The police yesterday airdropped from a helicopter leaflets ordering the surrender of about 100 armed intruders holed up in a village in Sabah whose encounter with the police on Friday resulted in 14 people killed, two of them police commandos.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said the leaflets carried the order in English and Suluk, reading: “Warning. Lay down your arms. Surrender. Surrender. Surrender.” Hamza also said that the police were collaborating with the army to resolve the matter.
He advised the people not to speculate on the number of security forces’ personnel who were killed or injured in the gun battle on Friday, and said that no curfew had been imposed in the area.
“I have to make this clear because there have been announcements of a curfew in social websites and blogs. I am in charge of issuing the order for a curfew, but I have not issued any order following yesterday’s (Friday) incident,” he said.
The armed intruders were cordoned off by the police on Feb 12 after they arrived there and laid claim to Sabah.
Twelve of them and two police commandos were killed in a gun battle on Friday after the intruders open fire when they stumbled upon the police in their attempt to move out of the area.
Hamza also said that a tactical approach was needed to remove the bodies of the dead intruders from the area.
Meanwhile, in Laahad Datu, many business premises remained closed following the incident on Friday, with only a small number of shops and restaurants open for business.
A check by Bernama showed that not many people were in the town even though it was the weekend, and there were fewer vehicles than normal on the roads.
A resident of Silam, Mohd Nizame Enchek, 27, said he was shocked to find Lahad Datu town almost deserted and many shops closed. It was the same story at Bandar Cenderawasih in Felda Sahabat 17, with a few shops and a restaurant open for business at the request of the security forces.
Najib berkata, beliau yakin dan percaya akan kemampuan pasukan keselamatan negara apatah lagi kini anggota keselamatan di sana sudah ditambah.
"Anggota polis telah ditambah. Tentera pun dah hantar dua batalion ke Sabah. Kita ada kekuatan yang mencukupi untuk menghadapi apa jua keadaan," katanya.
Mengenai insiden seorang pegawai dan empat anggota polis terkorban dalam serangan hendap oleh sekumpulan lelaki bersenjata di Kampung Sri Jaya, Siminul, Semporna, Sabah semalam, Najib berkata, ia satu kejadian yang tidak diduga.
"Pasukan kita dengan kekuatan 57 anggota. Mereka tak menduga kumpulan ini sanggup ambil tindakan cukup ganas. Pasukan kita pergi ke sana untuk mencari maklumat untuk gambaran lebih jelas," katanya.
Kejadian di perkampungan atas air pada jam 8 malam itu turut menyebabkan dua anggota kumpulan bersenjata terbabit terbunuh.
Apa sudah mahu jadi dengan dunia ini? Bukan menuju ke arah kemakmuran tapi macam nak kejar pertumpahan darah pula.
Sunggu menyedihkan kenapa hal ini masih berlaku. Bukankah manusia harus sedar pertumpahan darah tidak akan menbawa apa-apa manfaat.
Lepas kejadian ini tidak mustahil buku sejarah akan ada pengisian baru:P
Harap hal ini dapat dikawal, janganlah sampai penduduk tempatan jadi pelarian di bumi sendiri pula.
Apapun, semua pihak harus bagi kerjasama bagi mebendung hal ini bertambah teruk. Elakkan tunding menunding jari dan fikirlah macam mana kita nak bersatu berdepan dengan segala kmeungkinan.
Sultan sulu ini sanggup korbankan ramai nyawa demi mencapai agendanya.
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