Metro Manila, March 6 ------ The Philippines and Malaysia will hold talks on their long-standing territorial dispute over Sabah, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Manila.
In a recent video blog, Marcos said he and Anwar discussed the issue during their March 1 bilateral meeting and agreed on the two countries’ foreign affairs chiefs to meet over the matter. “Alam niyo naman meron tayong claim dyan sa Sabah na sinasabi natin na nasa Pilipinas ‘yan. Eh ngayon, sila ang administrator ng Sabah, kaya’t sabi namin kailangan natin pag-usapan nang masinsinan ‘yan,” Marcos said. “‘Yung mga foreign affairs secretary namin ay mag-uusap tungkol dyan, kung anong pwede pa nating gawin,” he added.
This was not the first time Marcos and Anwar briefly talked about Sabah. In September 2018, Marcos — who was not in the government after his failed 2016 vice presidential bid — said he and Anwar touched on the matter over “casual” dinner when the latter visited the Philippines. That year, Anwar was already poised to become Malaysia’s next prime minister but was later denied the premiership. According to Marcos, Anwar's view on the dispute at that time is that "both countries should move on and go to other issues." “Of course, our position in the Philippines is that our claim on Sabah is maintained," Marcos said in 2018. "We feel that it is a righteous claim. But I agree with his suggestion that the relationship between Malaysia and the Philippines should not be centered only around Sabah but should be expanded to include other sectors."
Years after being occupied by the Japanese and eventually becoming a British Crown Colony, Sabah became a state under Malaysia, which gained independence in 1963. Manila insists that Sabah was merely on lease to Malaysia by the Sultanate of Sulu, which has ceded sovereignty over the area to the Philippines. The Sultanate signed a lease agreement in 1878 with the now defunct private firm British North Borneo Company over a part of Sabah, which Malaysia absorbed after the British colonizers left.
The dispute stems from the term "pajak" in the agreement written in Arabic. The Philippines maintains it means lease, while Malaysia says it translates to cession.
Source: cnnphilippines.com
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