This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 20, 2023 - March 26, 2023

On the surface, the Malaysian government’s decision to embark on an overseas tour to “explain the Sulu group’s claims” seems like a waste of resources. When court bailiffs of various European countries are trying to enforce seizure notices on what the “heirs” have classified as supposedly national assets, the logical solution is that the matter must be fought in the court of law, not in the court of public opinion. After all, diplomacy is not going to halt the gavel of the law.

The situation brought upon us by the self-proclaimed “heirs” of the former Sulu sultanate is a tricky one, because their chosen forum is illegitimate. According to the 1878 Grant, the only legitimate jurisdiction to determine any dispute related to the Grant now lies with the courts in present-day Sabah. Therefore, Malaysia has to address the problem without lending legitimacy to an illegitimate jurisdiction and invalid award. It is like fighting a ghost which corporeally doesn’t exist, but at the same time, is capable of creating a great disturbance.

Can a diplomatic tour exorcise us of this vexatious spectre? At best, the exercise may convince other sovereign nations to empathise with us (if they haven’t seen the potential risks of such an illegitimate strategy to their sovereignty already).

However, if politicians are the ones doing the explaining, there is a risk of splattering more paint on the issue and our opponents than is warranted, and in so doing, invite further unnecessary disputes.

This problem is not going to be resolved through diplomacy, but rather through facts and the law. The immediate challenge is to bring the fight back to the legitimate arena that is the Sabah courts. Let any aggrieved party prove their case there.

In the meantime, the government should take cognisance of the fact that we as a nation have limited funds. We are fighting an opponent that is well funded and has nothing to lose but everything to gain. Let’s be prudent in how we spend our money — by hiring the best legal minds in international dispute resolution and letting them sort out our problems.

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