KOTA KINABALU, June 7 — The decision of the Paris Court of Appeal to uphold Malaysia’s challenge on the Sulu heirs’ arbitration judgement vindicated the state government’s stand that the so-called Sabah claim has no merit, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

Welcoming the landmark court victory, Hajiji said it further reinforced Sabah’s position in the Federation of Malaysia.

"The Sabah state government welcomes the decision and hopes that the Malaysian government will take all appropriate actions to put an end to the claim once and for all.

"Sabah, through its Attorney General Chambers will continue to play its role with the Federal Attorney General in dealing with the case,” he said.

He reiterated that Sabahans have chosen to jointly form the Malaysia Federation through the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63) therefore, any external claims against the state of Sabah will not be recognised by the people.

Yesterday, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that the arbitration court that ordered Malaysia to make the payment to the so-called heirs of Sulu, did not have jurisdiction in the case.

The decades-long dispute over Sabah goes back to 1878 when the then-sultanate had leased Sabah to a British company in 1878 and the Borneo state was later absorbed into Malaysia. The Sulu sultanate ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, which are part of Mindanao in today’s Philippines.

A French arbitration court last year ordered Malaysia to pay the Sulu descendants US$15 billion over their claim. The government filed an application to cancel the award in Paris, while a Luxembourg court set aside the legal action payment, Malaysia said in January.

In March, a court in Paris upheld a stay order obtained by Malaysia on enforcement of the award.

The heirs also said they are considering contesting the decision in France’s top court.