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Malaysia's Anwar on Sabah issue with PH: Let it rest for a while

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (L) and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (R) during a press joint briefing at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on March 1, 2023. Marianne Bermudez, PPA Pool" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/03/03/ibrahim-marcos.jpg"/><figcaption>Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (L) and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (R) during a press joint briefing at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on March 1, 2023. Marianne Bermudez, PPA Pool</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Malaysia is taking a cordial approach to its territorial dispute with the Philippines over Sabah, as Manila also does, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in an exclusive interview with ANC&#x27;s Headstart that aired Friday.&quot;Let it rest for a while, and there should not be an issue that easily provoke or cause antagonism because there are too many things in common,&quot; Anwar said.Sabah is located east of Malaysia&#x27;s northern Borneo and southwest of the Philippines&#x27; Sulu. The Philippines lays claim over Sabah, citing a land lease agreement in 1878 between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British North Borneo Chartered Co.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/30/20/sabah-belongs-to-philippines-says-palace-as-dormant-territorial-dispute-put-on-spotlight">Sabah belongs to Philippines, says Palace as dormant territorial dispute put on spotlight</a></li></ul>&quot;To be fair to the Filipino position, they’re not [hostile].. .Let us evolve slowly. Although, it is tough for us because our people in Sabah feel that we should be more assertive in defending. But, I think the President [Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.] has been very cordial. That’s the Philippine position, that’s the Malay position,&quot; Anwar said.&quot;These are two great nations. They must walk together. I represent this generation, and I told the President very clearly that... let us work together.&quot;Saying that Sabah is part of Malaysia, Anwar acknowledged nonetheless the Philippines&#x27; contention.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/07/19/mahathir-on-philippines-claim-to-sabah-there-is-no-claim">Mahathir on Philippines’ claim to Sabah: ‘There is no claim’</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/02/22/marcos-jr-admin-yet-to-declare-stance-on-sabah-claim">Marcos Jr. admin yet to declare stance on Sabah claim, Palace says</a></li></ul>A French arbitral court in 2022 ordered the Malaysian government to pay the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate $14 billion for its land lease violation dating back to 1878.Malaysia refused to recognize the ruling. Anwar echoed Kuala Lumpur&#x27;s sentiments, saying claims to Sabah by descendants of the Sultan of Sulu are &quot;ridiculous.&quot;&quot;There are faults in our legal process, but it&#x27;s been corrected and we will continue to win the cases,&quot; he said.Anwar was referring to an edict by a Luxembourg court last month ordering the cancelation of seizure by sultanate descendants of two Luxembourg-based subsidiaries of the Malaysian state oil firm Petronas in July 2022.Malaysia had petitioned the court to declare the seizure invalid.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/28/23/court-stops-sulu-sultan-heirs-seizure-of-malaysia-assets">Luxembourg court stops Sulu sultan heirs&#x27; seizure of Malaysia assets</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/28/22/dfa-told-to-seize-opportunity-after-arbitral-ruling-on-sabah">&#x27;We own Sabah&#x27;: DFA told to &#x27;seize opportunity&#x27; after court ruling vs Malaysia</a></li></ul>court-stops-sulu-sultan-heirs-seizure-of-malaysia-assetsAnwar noted Filipino officials have not been involved in applications staking claims to Sabah. &quot;I don&#x27;t think it is a decision that would affect the sovereignty of the nations. To us, it is our national sovereignty. There are issues ... which we can resolve. But it is a ridiculous claim,&quot; he said of the French arbitration court decision.Marcos has yet to publicly articulate his position on the country&#x27;s claim to Sabah since he became president in June last year, even as he said in his first State of the Nation Address that he will “not preside over any process that will abandon even a square inch of territory” of the Philippines to any foreign power.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/26/22/marcos-sona-signals-no-major-change-in-ph-foreign-policy-says-analyst">Marcos SONA signals no major change in PH foreign policy, says analyst</a></li></ul>But when he was still a senator in March 2013, he said in a statement to the press, &quot;&quot;We, as a republic, have a claim over Sabah since the 1960&#x27;s. We have historical claim over Sabah and that&#x27;s a fact.&quot;&quot;The Sultan of Sulu and his people are Filipino citizens and, by virtue of that fact, they deserve protection from the government of the Philippines... It&#x27;s the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens,&quot; he added.His father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., said in September 1968 that the Philippines would pursue any peaceful means to stake its claims to Sabah and bring the issue to the International Court of Justice. Aside from the Sabah issue, Anwar, who embarked on an official visit to the Philippines from Wednesday until Thursday, shared in the ANC interview his thoughts on the disputes in the South China Sea, the crisis in Myanmar, and the 1MDB scandal in his country, among others.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/03/23/malaysias-anwar-calls-for-common-asean-position-on-china-south-china-sea">Malaysia&#x27;s Anwar calls for common ASEAN position on China, South China Sea</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/03/03/23/malaysian-pm-asean-must-engage-more-effectively-on-myanmar-crisis">Malaysian PM Anwar: ASEAN needs to &#x27;engage more effectively&#x27; over Myanmar crisis</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/03/03/23/malaysia-willing-to-settle-with-banks-involved-in-1mdb-scandal">Malaysia willing to settle with banks involved in 1MDB scandal: Anwar</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wp4qxHwsWfI?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Malaysia is taking a cordial approach to its territorial dispute with the Philippines over Sabah, as Manila also does, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.