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