Status-conscious Malaysians have been duped into paying thousands of ringgit to buy fake titles.
KOTA KINABALU: Honours-hungry Malaysians are buying the “Datu” titles purportedly conferred by the sultan of Sulu for between RM100,000 and RM300,000.
The titles are being sold to the unsuspecting Malaysians by some dubious characters in Kuala Lumpur.
And the self-proclaimed “interim government of the Sulu sultanate” is upset and disgusted over this “serious crime”.
“Prime Minister” Datu Albi Ahmad Julkarnain Albi said that he was ashamed to learn that such titles were being sold to Malaysians.
He said that the individuals and syndicates who were involved in the sale of these false titles were conmen.
“This is a serious crime and it should be stopped once and for all,” he added.
He cautioned Malaysians not to be duped into buying such titles.
He said that the sultanate had stopped conferring the titles in 1936 after the death of the last sultan, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II (1894-1936).
He said that all those claiming to have been conferred the “Datu” titles by the Sulu sultan after 1936 were living a fantasy. Besides, their “documents” were invalid and fake.
“Only the reigning sultan can confer such title on a deserving person who has shown excellent service and made contribution to the sultanate of Sulu,” Albi said in a statement yesterday.
Sovereign rights
Albi, who is here with an entourage, was responding to complaints by some local dignitaries over the distribution of such titles by rival individuals who had proclaimed themselves the sultan of Sulu Sultanate.
“Datu” is the title for tribal chief and monarchs in the Philippines and should not be mistaken for the Datuk or Dato’ titles conferred by the King and Sultans in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Albi also urged the Tausug people who are living and working in Malaysia and Sabah in particular, to bear with his “interim government” while it strove to restore the sultanate, starting with the installation of the new sultan of Sulu, who is a Malaysian citizen living in Sabah.
He said that the Council of Royal Datus has confirmed that the person was indeed the heir to the Sulu sultanate.
He said that a team of lawyers was preparing to file the sultan’s claim in the International Court of Justice in The Hague to seek the restoration of his sovereign rights.
The sultan is also seeking the voluntary and peaceful abolishment of the current de facto Sulu administration by the Philippine government.
He is convinced that the current Philippine government under President Benigno Aquino will respect and abide by international laws and will return sovereign rights to the Sulu sultanate voluntarily.
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