KOTA KINABALU: Former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas must retract his statement in his book "My Story; Justice in the Wilderness" that "at some point in its history, North Borneo was part of the Sulu Sultanate", says Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.
The former Sabah chief minister said Thomas had no idea of Sabah's history and made statements that were being used by the self-proclaimed heirs to the defunct Sulu Sultanate.
"As it is, Tommy’s book has done damage to Sabah and Malaysia by being used to support the case of the Kiram claimants in a foreign country," he said Thursday (March 3).
Yong was referring to a Paris Arbitration Court's decision to award RM62bil to the self-proclaimed heirs based on Malaysia's alleged breach of cession money payment under an 1878 agreement signed by Sultan Jamal Al Alam.
Tommy had stated in his book (on page 378) that, “There were no legal grounds for Malaysia’s refusal to pay annually since 2013. It resulted in Malaysia being in breach of the 1878 agreement.”
The statement was used by the claimants in their claims in the Paris court.
Yong advised Thomas to read another book written by another former AG, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, titled “Putting to rest the claim to Sabah by the self-proclaimed Sultanate of Sulu" (published in 2013), which was a more accurate record of the legal and political history of Sabah.
"Everyone in the federal Attorney General's Chambers should be given a proper lesson on Sabah history.
"My view is that Thomas should have included in his book the legal basis of the 2013 decision by the Federal Government to stop making any more payments to the Kiram descendants," he added.
Yong argued that as a matter of historical fact, Sabah (North Borneo) was never a part of the Sulu Sultanate.
"What is accepted as an undisputed fact is that North Borneo was part of the Brunei Sultanate before the arrival of European colonialists to South-East Asia in the 17th century.
"Foreign powers (mainly China and Spain followed by the British and Germans) coming to the island of Borneo had always dealt with a government whose seat was in modern-day Brunei.
"It was only concerning relations with Sulu and islands in the Philippines archipelago that foreign powers had dealt with the Sulu Sultanate in Jolo on Sulu island.
"In matters of northern Borneo (previously spelt Boni, Buni etc in old maps), the recognised government was the Brunei sultanate.
"For three centuries, Sulu has been trying to lay its hands on North Borneo. But there is no record or any event that Brunei had ever ceded or given any part of Borneo to Sulu.
"In fact, records show that Brunei had repelled Sulu intrusions into Borneo, such as at Kinabatangan," he added.
As for the Sulu version that Brunei had agreed to give Northern Borneo to Sulu in return for Sulu military assistance to help the victor in the Brunei civil war (in the 1600s), Yong pointed out that the Brunei version is that the Sulu army never took part in the Brunei civil war but were in fact stationed at Pulau Chermin (off the coast of Brunei).
It was only after the Brunei civil war was over that the Sulu army claimed Northern Borneo. But the Sulu forces were successfully repelled by Brunei, Yong said quoting recorded history.
"As such, Sabah (North Borneo) was never a part of Sulu. Hence, the so-called Sulu-Overbeck grant on Jan 22, 1878, is redundant and of no effect because Sulu never had any title or any right over any part of Borneo island.
"It is the Dec 29, 1877, Brunei-Overbeck grant (basically granting North Borneo to Overbeck) that was effective. So, why did Overbeck and his business partners deem it necessary to sign another grant with Sulu when in fact, he (Overbeck) already had a valid grant from Brunei? Was it for security insurance to ward off threats from a foreign claimant?
"In any case, this was an arrangement between Overbeck’s company and Sulu that did not, and does not, bind other nations and people," Yong opined.