Malaysia Tags Sulu Sultan Muhammad Faud as Terrorist Over Sabah Claim

To protect its sovereignty during a dispute over the ownership of Sabah, the Malaysian government has labeled 69-year-old Filipino-born Muhammad Fuad Abdullah Kiram a terrorist under its anti-money laundering and terrorism laws.

According to the Law Ministry’s director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud, Muhammad Faud is one of the eight claimants to the Sulu sultanate throne and is part of the notorious Royal Sulu Force (RSF).

In 1878, Sabah was leased by the Sulu sultanate to a British company. It eventually became part of Malaysia after gaining independence in 1963.

As agreed, Malaysia was supposed to give an annual sum of RM5,300 to the heirs of the Sulu sultanate, but payments were suspended after the 2013 conflict between the Malaysian armed forces and followers of Jamalul Kiram III.

In 2022, a French arbitration court awarded the heirs RM62.59 billion for their territorial claims over Sabah. Just last month, Malaysia’s stay of enforcement on the claim was upheld by the Paris Court of Appeal, leading to the dismissal of the award.

The city-state decided to “go on offensive” by tagging one of the Sulu heirs as a terrorist.