The heirs of the Sulu sultanate acted to confiscate assets belonging to Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) registered in Luxembourg as compensation for land in Sabah leased by their ancestors in 1878.
According to official sources in Luxembourg, 2 Petronas -owned subsidiaries, Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz) and Petronas South Caucausus, worth more than $ 2 billion, were 'stolen' as compensation.
For the record, Petronas owns a 15.5% stake in Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz natural gas project but has sold a 9.99% stake to Russian company LUKOIL for $ 1.45 billion.
Revealing the history, the action is closely related to the legal issues raised by the heirs of Sulu in 2017.
At that time, the heirs of Sulu demanded compensation for land in Sabah which was said to have been leased by his ancestors to a British trading company in 1878.
Then in March, arbitrators in France ruled that Malaysia had to pay the heirs $ 15 billion.
This is because according to the arbitrators, Malaya had lease agreement obligations when it gained independence from the British.
However, the statement was criticized by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tunku Jaafar, saying that the decision was invalid because it was not based on the law.
He commented that the Malaysian government did not recognize the claims of Sulu's heirs and did not participate in arbitration proceedings because the country always defended and did not set aside sovereign immunity.
In addition, the claim is commercial in nature and is not subject to external arbitration and the 1878 Agreement does not contain an arbitration act.
Meanwhile, another source said that if Malaysia continues to ignore the decision, then the value of payments to Sulu heirs will increase and they will also 'steal' more national assets if the resolution is not reached.
In response, Malaysia has taken proactive steps by sending diplomatic notes to the 168 countries that signed the New York Convention.
It was made to inform all the listed countries that the claim made by the Sultan of Sulu was not grounded (unilateral) to the law.
