Citizen to be installed as true Sultan of Sulu

Manila: A Malaysian citizen who belongs to the lineage of the original Sultan of Sulu in the south Philippines, will soon be installed with a mission not to authorise the Philippine government to pursue its claim over Malaysia's Sabah, Free Malaysia reported.

"Sulu's new sultan is currently based in Sabah. He is a direct descendant of Paduka Mahasari Maulana Al Marhum Sultan Shariful Hashim, the founder and the first Sultan of Sulu Sultanate," Datu Albi Ahmad Julkarnain, a self-proclaimed prime minister of the interim government of the Sulu sultanate," told Free Malaysia.

The new sultan of Sulu will be known as Paduka Mahasari Maulana Sultan Shariful-Hashim II after his investiture ceremony in Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, said Julkarnain.

Legitimacy

The soon-to-be sultan of Sulu holds a key of a certain box code-named 1799, said Julkarnain, adding, "We appeal to all nations which are trustee custodians of these historical assets to be ready to deal with the government of the [Sulu] sultanate." He did not give more details.

Many self-proclaimed sultans of Sulu "have no legitimacy or mandate from the Tausug people [of Sulu]," Julkarnain said. He added that sultans of Sulu, in the past were either installed by the Philippine government, by foreign powers, or were self-proclaimed heirs of the original sultan.

The Philippine government has a list of some 24 sultans of Sulu, but the US State Department has a longer list of 123 around the world, Julkarnain said.

One of them was a Chinese citizen named Allen Neoh Weng Wah who proclaimed himself "King of Borneo, Sulu and Mindanao" in a ceremony in Hong Kong. The video was uploaded on YouTube last year.

The aim of the new [and true] sultan is to reach an agreement with the Malaysian government to drop the Sabah claim that was pursued by the Philippine government in 1963, said Julkarnain.

"Serious consideration to dropping the claim to Sabah would be deliberated in the best interest of Islam brotherhood, and long-term mutual bilateral relations between the Sulu sultanate and Malaysia," said Julkarnain.