Sulu 'sultanate' to sue Malaysia for 'illegally developing Sabah'

Lawyers representing the self-proclaimed Sulu sultanate are reportedly preparing a USD 25 billion (RM78 billion) suit against Malaysia for "usurping authority and illegally developing Sabah's natural resources".

The Manila Times reported that the sultanate plans to bring the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in response to the charging of eight of its followers for terrorism in Sabah on Wednesday.

The Kiram clan is quoting the US$25 billion sum as a "fine" for Malaysia as they claim the country had allegedly exploited the natural wealth of Sabah, which the former insist belonged to the now defunct sultanate.

Sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said that this would be the third time that the sultanate will file charges against the Malaysian government and its officials.

The first was in 1992 before the United Nations (UN) and the second was in 2004 before ICJ.

He said the two separate charges were still pending before the UN and ICJ because the ownership of Sabah has not yet been resolved.

On February 9, the Sulu 'crown prince' Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of 'Sultan' Jamalul Kiram III, had led a group of some 200 armed militants to Lahad Datu, staking an ancestral claim over the north Borneo state.

The death toll to date has exceeded 70, including 10 policemen and soldiers from Malaysian security forces and 63 Sulu gunmen killed since violence erupted on March 1.

Malaysia launched Ops Daulat on March 5 to flush out the armed militants after weeks of negotiation failed to result in a peaceful resolution. The operations are still ongoing.