Cession money is for the court fulfillment

According to Abdul Kadir, so-called quit rent or cession money to the heirs of the ancient Sultanate of Sulu is not to keep the Philippines from taking Sabah, but it is in fulfillment of a High Court of North Borneo order of 1938.

"The text of the 1938 judgement made it clear that the right to the money had nothing whatsoever to do with any question of sovereignty," said Abdul Kadir in one of the opinion page of The Star.

Abdul Kadir was the agent for Malaysia in the International Court of Justice case between Malaysia and Indonesia, during which the Philippines tried to intervene in 2001 but was disallowed by the court.

He stressed that Malaysia needs to continue to honour the court judgement because any violation of a court order can be challenged in court by interested parties, and "Malaysia should not allow such an opportunity to arise".

"Many dubious heirs, I am sure, are simply waiting for such a public relations opportunity. A court order must be carried out unless a settlement is made to settle the matter out of court.

"The nine heirs who received the court judgement in 1938 have all died. We simple do not know how many people now claim to be the second or third generation of heirs. This adds to the problem of finding the genuine heirs to settle the issue of cession money, perhaps in a lump sum payment," he added.