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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Sulu ‘crown prince’ vows to drop Sabah claim

KOTA KINABALU - A so-called crown prince of the Sulu sultanate, who is believed to be a cousin of the recently departed Sultan Esmail Kiram II, has promised the people of Sabah that there will be no more intrusions and his sultanate will no longer be issuing claims over the State.

“We already have a lot on our hands fighting for the independence of Sulu from the Philippines. To add the claim on Sabah to our mission will be unnecessary additional problem when we should instead be working towards our independence,” said Datu Mohd Kudhar SJ Kiram II.

Datu Kudhar, 69, who disclosed that he is the son of one of Jamalul Kiram’s children Sultan Julaspi Kiram II, said he will be going back to the Philippines to inform the government of this decision.

He also vowed that the Sulu will gain its independence from the Philippines next year.

“Therefore, we will want to have harmonious and peaceful relations with our neighbouring country and states. That is why we vow that there will be no more intrusions,” said Kudhar at a press conference here yesterday.

He also said that upon gaining their independence, they will invite the Suluks in Sabah, which he claimed to be over one million of them in the State, to go back to their country.

Kudhar claimed that the late Jamalul Kiram III and Esmail Kiram II had nothing to do with the Kirams.

“No Kiram will ever do what they did,” said Kudhar, referring to the intrusion by Sulu militants in Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu, in 2012.

He vowed not to interfere with the ongoing persecution of militants in the country, as “they have committed a serious crime against the Agong,” and that they should be dealt with by the laws of the country.

“It’s a heinous crime. Many innocent lives were lost because of their actions. It’s on them,” he said.

Kudhar also said that although he could, he would not meddle with the issue involving two Malaysians who were kidnapped from Sandakan by Filipino gunmen on May 14, despite allegedly having the influence to do so.

“That is a matter of them (abductors) making a living. You know how it is when you interfere with such things,” he replied when asked.

Kudhar disclosed that his father was the one who was in contact with the late Tun Mustapha and was even one of the signatories of Malaysia’s formation.

“My father didn’t want North Borneo to fall into the hands of the Christians, hence, rejecting the Philippines government. My father was the one in contact with Tun Mustapha. That’s why we were invited to Jesselton in 1963, on invitation by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman himself,” said Kudhar.

“My father signed for Sabah joining the Federation of Malaysia. We (the Sulu Sultanate) are the backbone of Sabah to this day. My father agreed to Sabah joining Malaysia because Malaysia is an Islamic country,” said Kudhar, who also claimed to be the chief of Muslims in all of the Philippines.

Kudhar, whose ‘confirmation’ as the crown prince of the Sulu Sultanate was by verifying it from his father, also apologised to Sabahans for the confusions and chaos caused by the many individuals who claimed to be the Sultan of Sulu, defiling his grandfather’s name, one of which had led to a security crisis in the State.

Kudhar said he had already ordered his people, the Suluks, residing in Malaysia, to continue supporting the Barisan Nasional, particularly the Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Sabah, and to not bite the hands that feed them, as well as to stay out of trouble.

According to Kudhar, there are now over one million Suluks in Sabah and close to 300,000 in Peninsular Malaysia.

Kudhar, who said he attended school in Sekolah Kebangsaan Sembulan and later in Sabah College (Maktab Sabah), is now based in Manila, and had also alleged that he was in Kuala Lumpur with his wife and children, during the intrusion by Sulu militants at Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu, in 2012, and therefore could not stop the intrusion.

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