PUTRAJAYA, April 12 — In a bid to counter disinformation, the Malaysian government has set up a website to disseminate accurate and truthful information in relation to the ongoing legal dispute filed by the Sulu group against Malaysia.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the website supplies information from verified sources such as historical documents, court proceedings, claimants’ attempts, related articles and government measures.
“This website will become an official platform for Malaysians and media practitioners (local and international) to obtain the latest development and facts in the ongoing arbitration dispute,” she said in a media briefing yesterday.
According to Azalina, the website will be made available in stages in five languages: English, Bahasa Malaysia, French, Spanish and Tagalog.
The website is https://www.malaysia-sulucase.gov.my/ and it is currently available in English.
Azalina today said the Sulu claimants — who are seeking to enforce a US$14.9 billion (RM63 billion) arbitration award against Malaysia — are threatening the country’s sovereignty and security by making false statements that twist history and have harmed Malaysia’s image.
The Sulu claimants are currently seeking to seize Malaysia’s assets abroad and to threaten Malaysia into paying the RM63 billion arbitration award — the second-largest arbitration award in history, but Azalina said Malaysia views the arbitration to be invalid and also does not recognise the Sulu claimants to be the valid descendants of the Sulu sultan.
She pointed out that one of the Sulu claimants — Muhammad Fuad Abdullah Kiram — has already been declared by Malaysia to be a terrorist.
Apart from continuing to take legal action to defend Malaysia from the Sulu claimants’ actions, the new website will help fight the false claims by the Sulu claimants, she said.
The website is expected to be updated from time to time with new developments.
The website was launched today by Azalina, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir and Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
At the launch today, Zambry said the Cabinet had decided that the three ministries would work together as a team and to assist Azalina in the work in defending Malaysia’s sovereignty in relation to the Sulu claim.
“And for the ministry, specifically the Foreign Affairs Ministry, we will continue to give full support in ensuring Malaysia’s sovereignty is always preserved.
“In the context of our work, we will work together as a team and we will not separate duties and responsibilities. Any of our work whether internally or internationally, we will work together as a team,” he said.
He added that his ministry had already held preliminary discussions with Azalina and Fahmi on this matter and will ensure that work planned abroad would be carried out well.
At the same launch event, Fahmi said his ministry’s role is to assist in communications regarding the Sulu claim matter, including through the national news agencies.
“We assisted to make some assessments, particularly in terms of the communication plan as well as to provide support, particularly through our main agencies Bernama and RTM, and to make sure we assist in the overall narrative for the strategy that the government has chosen,” he said.
Azalina yesterday again called into question the legitimacy of the purported claimants, saying it is still undetermined whether the group were true descendants of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II to this date.
“Moreover, the claimants are going against the wishes of Sabahan to join Malaysia in 1963 as previously reported by the Cobbold Commission,” she said.
In 1963, the Cobbold Commission reported that North Borneo (now known as Sabah) had chosen to form the federation of Malaysia together with Sarawak and Malaya (now known as peninsular Malaysia).
Today, Azalina said that this means the Sulu claimants are ignoring the people of Sabah’s exercise of their right to self-determination to be part of Malaysia.
