• Home
  • About RSIS
    • Introduction
    • Building the Foundations
    • Welcome Message
    • Board of Governors
    • Staff Profiles
      • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
      • Dean’s Office
      • Management
      • Distinguished Fellows
      • Faculty and Research
      • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
      • Visiting Fellows
      • Adjunct Fellows
      • Administrative Staff
    • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
    • RSIS Endowment Fund
    • Endowed Professorships
    • Career Opportunities
    • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
    • Research Centres
      • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
      • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
      • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
      • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
      • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
    • Research Programmes
      • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
      • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
    • Future Issues and Technology Cluster
    • [email protected] Newsletter
    • Other Research
      • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
    • Graduate Programmes Office
    • Overview
    • MSc (Asian Studies)
    • MSc (International Political Economy)
    • MSc (International Relations)
    • MSc (Strategic Studies)
    • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
    • PhD Programme
    • Exchange Partners and Programmes
    • How to Apply
    • Financial Assistance
    • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
    • RSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
    • Alumni
    • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
    • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
    • International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
    • SRP Executive Programme
    • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
    • RSIS Publications
      • Annual Reviews
      • Books
      • Bulletins and Newsletters
      • Commentaries
      • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
      • Commemorative / Event Reports
      • IDSS Paper
      • Interreligious Relations
      • Monographs
      • NTS Insight
      • Policy Reports
      • Working Papers
      • RSIS Publications for the Year
    • Glossary of Abbreviations
    • External Publications
      • Authored Books
      • Journal Articles
      • Edited Books
      • Chapters in Edited Books
      • Policy Reports
      • Working Papers
      • Op-Eds
      • External Publications for the Year
    • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
    • Great Powers
    • Sustainable Security
    • Other Resource Pages
    • Media Highlights
    • News Releases
    • Speeches
    • Vidcast Channel
    • Audio/Video Forums
  • Events
  • Giving
  • Contact Us
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSISVideoCast RSISVideoCast rsis.sg
Linkedin
instagram instagram rsis.sg
RSS
  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • Future Issues and Technology Cluster
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
      • MSc (Strategic Studies)
      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
      • Exchange Partners and Programmes
      • How to Apply
      • Financial Assistance
      • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
      • RSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
      • Alumni
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
      • International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
      • SRP Executive Programme
      • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
      • RSIS Publications
        • Annual Reviews
        • Books
        • Bulletins and Newsletters
        • Commentaries
        • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
        • Commemorative / Event Reports
        • IDSS Paper
        • Interreligious Relations
        • Monographs
        • NTS Insight
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • RSIS Publications for the Year
      • Glossary of Abbreviations
      • External Publications
        • Authored Books
        • Journal Articles
        • Edited Books
        • Chapters in Edited Books
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • Op-Eds
        • External Publications for the Year
      • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
      • Great Powers
      • Sustainable Security
      • Other Resource Pages
      • Media Highlights
      • News Releases
      • Speeches
      • Vidcast Channel
      • Audio/Video Forums
  • Events
  • Giving
  • Contact Us
  • instagram instagram rsis.sg
Connect

Getting to RSIS

Map

Address

Nanyang Technological University
Block S4, Level B3,
50 Nanyang Avenue,
Singapore 639798

View location on Google maps Click here for directions to RSIS

Get in Touch

    Connect with Us

      rsis.ntu
      rsis_ntu
      rsisntu
    RSISVideoCast RSISVideoCast rsisvideocast
      school/rsis-ntu
    instagram instagram rsis.sg
      RSS
    Subscribe to RSIS Publications
    Subscribe to RSIS Events

    RSIS Intranet

    S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Think Tank and Graduate School Ponder The Improbable Since 1966
    Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University

    Skip to content

     
    • RSIS
    • Publication
    • RSIS Publications
    • CO11020 | A New ‘Sultan’ of Sulu in Malaysia: Implications for Politics and Bilateral Ties
    • Annual Reviews
    • Books
    • Bulletins and Newsletters
    • Commentaries
    • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
    • Commemorative / Event Reports
    • IDSS Paper
    • Interreligious Relations
    • Monographs
    • NTS Insight
    • Policy Reports
    • Working Papers
    • RSIS Publications for the Year

    CO11020 | A New ‘Sultan’ of Sulu in Malaysia: Implications for Politics and Bilateral Ties
    Farish A. Noor

    14 February 2011

    download pdf
    RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due credit to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email to Editor RSIS Commentary at [email protected].

    Synopsis

    For decades there have been many contenders to the title of the Sultan of Sulu. Recently a Malaysian citizen has proclaimed himself to be the ‘real Sultan of Sulu’. The consequences of this proclamation will be felt in Malaysian domestic politics and may affect Malaysia-Philippine ties.

    Commentary

    FOR DECADES there have been many contenders to the title of the Sultan of Sulu. Since late 2010 the debate over who was the rightful heir to the throne arose again in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. Then the self- styled ‘Prime Minister of the Sultanate of Sulu’, Datu Albi Ahmad Julkarnain, announced that the ‘Sulu government’ would soon declare the identity of the real inheritor to the throne of Sulu, and by so doing desist in all its claims to Sabah.

    The New ‘Sultan of Sulu’

    In the first week of February 2011 a local Sabahan sub-contractor and businessman Datu Mohd Akjan bin Datu Ali Muhammad, was declared as the real ‘Sultan of Sulu’ at a ceremony in Kota Kinabalu. The event was witnessed by 60 representatives from the various Tausug communities of Tawi-Tawi, Palawan, Sulu and Sabah. With the proclamation of Datu Akjan as the reigning Sultan of Sulu with the title Sultan Paduka Mahasari Maulana al-Marhum Sultan Shariful-Hashim II, the Sulu ‘government’ officially relinquished its claims to Sabah. The rationale was that since the 1970s the Malaysian government had been kind to Sulu exiles who fled from the Philippines.

    Immediately after the proclamation, local politicians from East Malaysia raised the question of how a Malaysian citizen could unilaterally declare himself as the sovereign of another country. The former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee of the Sabah Progressive Party urged the Malaysian government to clarify the matter, citing the allegations against Mohd Akjan and stating that he had once been allegedly detained for fabricating identity cards in Sabah.

    The former chief minister also noted that it was highly irregular to have a Malaysian citizen proclaim himself to be the Sultan of a separate state and head of a foreign government-in-exile, and not to pledge loyalty to the King of Malaysia and the Malaysian constitution. Other Sabah politicians including former senator Chong Eng Leong also added that this recent development might contribute to more foreigners coming to settle in Sabah.

    Problem of an extinct kingdom

    The problem of Sulu is a complex one. The Sultanate of Sulu – it once covered an area that extended from the Sulu and Palawan islands, across the Spratly islands, Basilan and parts of North Borneo, including present-day Sabah – ceased to exist after its last ruler Sultan Muhammad Fadzlun was forced to surrender his power in 1862. When Sabah became part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1962 the Philippines was initially hostile to the move as it claimed that Sabah was once part of the kingdom of Sulu, and that Sulu was part of the Philippines.

    From 1962 to the late 1990s, many Filipino citizens had fled the conflict zone of Southern Philippines and settled in Malaysia. Critics of the new ‘Sultan of Sulu’ have claimed that he falls into the same category of citizens of ambiguous origin. According to local media reports, ‘Sultan’ Akjan was born in Jambangan, Nipah- Nipah on 23 November 1957 but his Malaysian identity card states that he was born in Sabah on 7 July 1957.

    The complications that may arise from this curious event are manifold:

    Firstly, it raises the question of the dual loyalties of those former Philippine citizens who were allowed to settle in Malaysia and to assume Malaysian citizenship. ‘Sultan’ Akjan’s detractors in Sabah have presented him as a foreigner who has lived in Malaysia under the protection of Malaysian law, but who now claims to be the ruler of a separate state – thereby raising questions related to the loyalty of Malaysian citizens to the King (Yang di Pertuan Agong) of Malaysia and the Malaysian constitution.

    Secondly, this new development has further raised the political temperature in Sabah where opposition leaders and parties have tried in recent months to rekindle feelings of Sabahan solidarity and opposition to the Federal government of West Malaysia. Sabah politicians like Yong Teck Lee have once against raised the issue of the granting of Malaysian citizenship status to foreigners in Sabah, which local Sabah opposition leaders claim has led to the relative shrinking of the size of the original Sabahan population thanks to the influx of foreign migrants, both legal and illegal.

    Implications for Malaysia-Philippines relations

    Thirdly it raises the thorny question of how the Philippines would react to the claim by Datu Mohd Akjan/ Sultan Shariful-Hashim II. The Philippine government had already installed its own monarch in Sulu, whom Manila claims to be the rightful Sultan of Sulu. At the investiture ceremony in February 2011, both Datu Mohd Akjan/ Sultan Shariful-Hashim II and his Prime Minister Datu Albi Ahmad Julkarnain claimed that the Sulu Sultanate was not a part of the Philippines and has never been a part of the Philippines – a move that was bound to upset the Philippine government in Manila.

    By claiming themselves to be the real (albeit virtual) government of Sulu in exile, Sultan Shariful-Hashim II and Datu Albi Ahmad were also claiming by extension that the present-day rulers and government of Sulu who are backed by the Philippine government are illegitimate. They insisted that the matter would eventually be brought to the International Court of Justice and the United Nations, and that one day the Sultanate of Sulu ought to be recognised as an independent Sultanate in its own right.

    Thus what began as a seemingly obscure and trivial matter may have long-term repercussions and consequences to the internal politics of Malaysia/Sabah as well as Malaysian-Philippines relations.

    About the Author

    Farish A Noor is a Senior Fellow with the Contemporary Islam Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. 

    Categories: Commentaries / / Southeast Asia and ASEAN

    Last updated on 13/10/2014

    RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due credit to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email to Editor RSIS Commentary at [email protected].

    Synopsis

    For decades there have been many contenders to the title of the Sultan of Sulu. Recently a Malaysian citizen has proclaimed himself to be the ‘real Sultan of Sulu’. The consequences of this proclamation will be felt in Malaysian domestic politics and may affect Malaysia-Philippine ties.

    Commentary

    FOR DECADES there have been many contenders to the title of the Sultan of Sulu. Since late 2010 the debate over who was the rightful heir to the throne arose again in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. Then the self- styled ‘Prime Minister of the Sultanate of Sulu’, Datu Albi Ahmad Julkarnain, announced that the ‘Sulu government’ would soon declare the identity of the real inheritor to the throne of Sulu, and by so doing desist in all its claims to Sabah.

    The New ‘Sultan of Sulu’

    In the first week of February 2011 a local Sabahan sub-contractor and businessman Datu Mohd Akjan bin Datu Ali Muhammad, was declared as the real ‘Sultan of Sulu’ at a ceremony in Kota Kinabalu. The event was witnessed by 60 representatives from the various Tausug communities of Tawi-Tawi, Palawan, Sulu and Sabah. With the proclamation of Datu Akjan as the reigning Sultan of Sulu with the title Sultan Paduka Mahasari Maulana al-Marhum Sultan Shariful-Hashim II, the Sulu ‘government’ officially relinquished its claims to Sabah. The rationale was that since the 1970s the Malaysian government had been kind to Sulu exiles who fled from the Philippines.

    Immediately after the proclamation, local politicians from East Malaysia raised the question of how a Malaysian citizen could unilaterally declare himself as the sovereign of another country. The former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee of the Sabah Progressive Party urged the Malaysian government to clarify the matter, citing the allegations against Mohd Akjan and stating that he had once been allegedly detained for fabricating identity cards in Sabah.

    The former chief minister also noted that it was highly irregular to have a Malaysian citizen proclaim himself to be the Sultan of a separate state and head of a foreign government-in-exile, and not to pledge loyalty to the King of Malaysia and the Malaysian constitution. Other Sabah politicians including former senator Chong Eng Leong also added that this recent development might contribute to more foreigners coming to settle in Sabah.

    Problem of an extinct kingdom

    The problem of Sulu is a complex one. The Sultanate of Sulu – it once covered an area that extended from the Sulu and Palawan islands, across the Spratly islands, Basilan and parts of North Borneo, including present-day Sabah – ceased to exist after its last ruler Sultan Muhammad Fadzlun was forced to surrender his power in 1862. When Sabah became part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1962 the Philippines was initially hostile to the move as it claimed that Sabah was once part of the kingdom of Sulu, and that Sulu was part of the Philippines.

    From 1962 to the late 1990s, many Filipino citizens had fled the conflict zone of Southern Philippines and settled in Malaysia. Critics of the new ‘Sultan of Sulu’ have claimed that he falls into the same category of citizens of ambiguous origin. According to local media reports, ‘Sultan’ Akjan was born in Jambangan, Nipah- Nipah on 23 November 1957 but his Malaysian identity card states that he was born in Sabah on 7 July 1957.

    The complications that may arise from this curious event are manifold:

    Firstly, it raises the question of the dual loyalties of those former Philippine citizens who were allowed to settle in Malaysia and to assume Malaysian citizenship. ‘Sultan’ Akjan’s detractors in Sabah have presented him as a foreigner who has lived in Malaysia under the protection of Malaysian law, but who now claims to be the ruler of a separate state – thereby raising questions related to the loyalty of Malaysian citizens to the King (Yang di Pertuan Agong) of Malaysia and the Malaysian constitution.

    Secondly, this new development has further raised the political temperature in Sabah where opposition leaders and parties have tried in recent months to rekindle feelings of Sabahan solidarity and opposition to the Federal government of West Malaysia. Sabah politicians like Yong Teck Lee have once against raised the issue of the granting of Malaysian citizenship status to foreigners in Sabah, which local Sabah opposition leaders claim has led to the relative shrinking of the size of the original Sabahan population thanks to the influx of foreign migrants, both legal and illegal.

    Implications for Malaysia-Philippines relations

    Thirdly it raises the thorny question of how the Philippines would react to the claim by Datu Mohd Akjan/ Sultan Shariful-Hashim II. The Philippine government had already installed its own monarch in Sulu, whom Manila claims to be the rightful Sultan of Sulu. At the investiture ceremony in February 2011, both Datu Mohd Akjan/ Sultan Shariful-Hashim II and his Prime Minister Datu Albi Ahmad Julkarnain claimed that the Sulu Sultanate was not a part of the Philippines and has never been a part of the Philippines – a move that was bound to upset the Philippine government in Manila.

    By claiming themselves to be the real (albeit virtual) government of Sulu in exile, Sultan Shariful-Hashim II and Datu Albi Ahmad were also claiming by extension that the present-day rulers and government of Sulu who are backed by the Philippine government are illegitimate. They insisted that the matter would eventually be brought to the International Court of Justice and the United Nations, and that one day the Sultanate of Sulu ought to be recognised as an independent Sultanate in its own right.

    Thus what began as a seemingly obscure and trivial matter may have long-term repercussions and consequences to the internal politics of Malaysia/Sabah as well as Malaysian-Philippines relations.

    About the Author

    Farish A Noor is a Senior Fellow with the Contemporary Islam Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. 

    Categories: Commentaries

    Last updated on 13/10/2014

    Back to top

    Terms of Use | Privacy Statement
    Copyright © S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. All rights reserved.
    This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. By continuing, you are agreeing to the use of cookies on your device as described in our privacy policy. Learn more
    OK
    Latest Book
    CO11020 | A New ‘Sultan’ of Sulu in Malaysia: Implications for Politics and Bilateral Ties

    Synopsis

    more info