Malaysian Assets To Be Seized By Heirs Of Sulu Sultan To Satisfy $15-B Award

Despite a stay issued by a French court, the heirs of a 19th-century sultanate are attempting to seize Malaysian government assets around the world in order to enforce a $14.9 billion arbitration award they won against the Southeast Asian nation, their lawyers told Rozanna Latiff of Reuters.

Photo Insert: The heirs claim to be the successors of the last Sultan of Sulu, are Philippine nationals.

In February, a French arbitration court ordered Malaysia to pay the amount to the descendants of the last Sultan of Sulu in order to resolve a dispute over a colonial-era land transaction.

Malaysia announced on Wednesday that the Paris Court of Appeal has suspended the judgment after concluding that the award could violate the country's sovereignty.

The heirs claim to be the successors of the last Sultan of Sulu, who in 1878 entered into an agreement with a British trade company for the exploitation of resources in area under his authority, including what is now the oil-rich Malaysian state of Sabah on the northern tip of Borneo. The transaction did not grant sovereignty to the trading company.

After gaining independence from the United Kingdom, Malaysia assumed responsibility for the arrangement, paying a yearly token sum to the heirs, who are Philippine nationals.

Malaysia argued that no one else had the right to Sabah, which was a part of its territory, and hence the payments were discontinued in 2013.

Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Malaysia's minister of law, stated that the stay will prevent the award from being executed while Malaysia seeks to overturn the decision. Malaysia had not participated in the arbitration in the past.

Attorneys representing the claimants, however, assert that the February judgment is still legally enforceable outside of France under the New York Convention, a United Nations treaty on international arbitration recognized in 170 nations.

"The 'stay' that seems to comfort the Malaysian government temporarily delays local enforcement in one country, France itself," said Paul Cohen of the London law firm 4-5 Gray's Inn Square, co-counsel for the heirs. "It does not apply to the other 169."

Elisabeth Mason, another attorney for the heirs, stated that, with a few exclusions, such as diplomatic properties, any Malaysian government-owned property within nations party to the UN convention is eligible for the purposes of enforcing the award.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic