As far as Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is concerned, Sabah belongs to Malaysia.
Mahathir said today that the Philippine government does not have an existing claim on Sabah, a state occupying the island of Borneo.
Are you shookt, Pinoys?
The prime minister made this eyebrow-raising comment in an interview on television station ANC with journalist Cathy Yang. He’s in Manila as part of a two-day official visit which started yesterday.
The Philippines has a dormant claim on Sabah, which joined Malaysia when the country was formed into a federation 1963.
The Philippines maintains that the Sultanate of Sulu leased the state in 1878 to the British North Borneo Chartered Co and that the lease did not render Sabah as part of Malaysia.
In 2013, members of the Royal Army of Sulu, the armed forces of the Sultanate of Sulu, invaded a village within the state to push for their claim to it. The Malaysian army attacked the Filipino militants to end the siege, Associated Press reported.
In his interview, Mahathir appeared hesitant to talk about Sabah. After discussing the ASEAN, Yang asked Mahathir: “Are you open with discussing President [Rodrigo] Duterte the Philippine claims on Sabah?”
He answered after a few seconds: “Well, as far as we are concerned, there is no claim on Sabah. We won’t discuss that.”
When pressed by Yang if Mahathir will bring up the subject of Sabah with Duterte, he answered: “No, no.”
However, Duterte’s spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, today brushed off Mahathir’s statement and said the Philippines’ is still claiming Sabah.
Panelo was quoted by The Philippine Daily Inquirer: “The position of the President…we have a claim. It’s true that we have a claim correct? That has been a bone of contention, since the time of President Marcos.”
In the 2016 presidential campaign, Duterte said he will pursue the Sabah claim but “only through peaceful means.” However, it hasn’t been reported if Duterte has brought up the topic during Mahathir’s state visit.
