KUALA LUMPUR (July 13): Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh has submitted a motion to the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat to debate the seizure of two subsidiaries of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) by the “heirs” of the late Sultan of Sulu, as well as another motion to debate the tragic floods in Baling.

“It is hoped that the motions will be allowed as I am of the view that they relate to a definite matter of urgent public importance,” he said in a statement.

Both motions were addressed to the current Speaker of the house, Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, also known as Art Harun. The next Parliament sitting will commence next Monday (July 18).

Ramkarpal is seeking answers about how the Sulu “heirs” managed to execute the seizure and what steps the government is taking to prevent these assets from being claimed by the said "heirs".

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Laws) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said in a statement on Wednesday that the Paris Court of Appeal had on Tuesday (July 12) allowed Malaysia’s application for a suspension order to temporarily halt the enforcement of an arbitration ruling in favour of the “heirs” in the US$14.9 billion legal dispute.

He said that the arbitration ruling was not supposed to be enforced in any country until a final decision is made by the Paris Court in relation to the government’s application to cancel such a ruling, of which hearing dates have yet to be determined.

“The Suspension Order is the result of various legal actions taken by the government of Malaysia since the (Sulu Sultanate's heirs') claim was filed to end all claims and ensure that Malaysia's interests, sovereign immunity and sovereignty remain protected and preserved,” he said.

Wan Junaidi said the decision by the Paris CoA on Tuesday was made on the basis that the arbitration ruling rendered by arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa will compromise Malaysia’s sovereign immunity.

The said arbitration ruling, dated Feb 28, resulted in two of Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s Luxembourg-registered subsidiaries being served with seize orders on Monday, as the claimants sought to enforce the ruling.

Wan Junaidi reiterated that the government has never recognised these claims and has never set aside the country’s sovereign immunity as a sovereign nation.

The legal dispute emerged after the “heirs” and “successors-in-interest” to Sultan Jamalul Kiram II initiated a claim against the government of Malaysia through an international arbitration proceeding in Madrid, Spain.

The claim is based on an agreement Sultan Mohamet Jamal Al Alam, the Sultan of Sulu at the time, and Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent entered into in 1878, under which the Sultan of Sulu granted and ceded in perpetuity the sovereign rights over certain territories located in North Borneo, now forming part of Sabah, Malaysia.

As a token, RM5,300 per annum was to be paid to the then Sultan of Sulu, his heirs or successors. According to a March statement by Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General’s Chambers, such payment was ceased in 2013 following the Lahad Datu armed invasion.