Grant By Sultan of Sulu of Territories and Lands On The Mainland of The Island of Borneo
On 22 January 1878, an agreement was signed between the Sultanate of Sulu and British commercial syndicate (Alfred Dent and Baron von Overback), which stipulated that North Borneo was either ceded or leased (depending on translation used) to the British syndicate in return for payment of 5000 Malayan Dollar per year. On 22 April 1903 His Majesty Sultan Jamalul Kiram signed a document known as "Confirmation of cession of certain islands", under what he either "grant and ceded" or "leased" additional islands in the neighbourhood of the mainland of North Borneo from Banggi Island to Sibuku Bay to British North Borneo Company. The sum 5,000 dollars a year payable every year increased to 5,300 dollars a year payable every year.
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The key word in both the agreements was "padjak", which has been translated by American, Dutch and Spanish linguists to mean "lease" or "arrendamiento". The British nevertheless takes the word "padjak" to mean "grant and cede". It can be argued however, that "padjak" means "mortgage" or "pawn" or even "wholesale", as per the contemporary meaning of "padjak" in Sulu. This indicates that the agreement was actually a contract in which the Sultan of Sulu placed the land as mortgage/perpetual lease in return for a loan of Malayan Dollar 5300 per year until perpetuity.
As of press time, the Malaysian Embassy in Manila continues to pay "cession money" to the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu, amounting to P73,940 (Filipino Peso) or RM5300. This cession money is confirmed by the Malaysian Embassy in Manila, and the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu.
Read more about this topic: North Borneo Dispute
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