Arroyo meets Sabah sultan

Arroyo meets Sabah sultan

PHILIPPINES: President Gloria Arroyo met on Wednesday with a
Filipino sultan in connection with the Philippines claim on the
Malaysian state of Sabah, telling him that reclaiming the
territory will take a "long, long time", a presidential aide
said.

Sultan Jamalul Kiram and a brother, their wives and 36 other
relatives held a luncheon meeting with Arroyo at Malacanang
palace, said presidential adviser Norberto Gonzales, who also was
at the meeting.

Manila's sovereignty claim on the Malaysian state is based on
the proprietary rights of the southern Philippines Islamic
sultanate. The sultan of Brunei had ceded the territory to the
Sulu sultanate in the 18th century to thank him for his aid in
war.

Malaysia, which pays the Filipino sultanate's heirs 6,300
ringgit (US$1,658) annually, rejects its neighbor's sovereignty
claim. The territorial dispute first cropped up when Malaysia
gained independence from Britain in 1963.

Certain Filipino legislators urged Arroyo to revive the claim
last month after the Sabah state government deported hundreds of
Filipino illegal migrants, many of them from the Muslim southern
Philippines. --AFP