President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has told Filipino Muslims claiming Sabah as their hereditary possession to get their act together and speak with one voice.
She has also promised Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and eight other heirs recognised by the Philippine government that she will help them pursue their long-dormant proprietary claim to Sabah, Norberto Gonzales, her presidential adviser for special concerns, said yesterday.
Sabah, roughly the same size as Mindanao island in the southern Philippines, was a present to the Sultanate of Sulu by the Sultanate of Brunei nearly 300 years ago and Sultan Kiram is recognised as the 33rd direct descendant of the sultanate.
To this day, the Kirams continue to receive more than M$5,000 (HK$10,000) per year as 'rent' for the use of Sabah by the Malaysian government, which has insisted on calling this a 'cession fee'.
Malaysia would like to settle this issue but claims it does not know with whom to settle since the number of heirs seems to grow by the day.
Mr Gonzales said: 'One of the topics we have discussed with the president is, once and for all let us settle this business of the heirs.' He noted that during the presidency of Corazon Aquino 16 years ago, 'we summoned the nine heirs, but about 120 others showed up. During the time of President Fidel Ramos, 1,800 claimants showed up.' During last week's private lunch meeting between the president, Sultan Kiram, his brother Sultan Esmail Kiram and 36 other family members, Mr Gonzales said that the heirs had agreed to resolve this family matter internally.