Where does Sabah go from here, or for that matter the Sultanate of Sulu?
The question comes naturally after it has become obvious that the Philippine government has slept on its rights all these years, prejudicing the legitimate ownership of its citizen, the Sultan of Sulu, of the Malaysian State of Sabah. The Sultan is not even claiming Sabah; it is his by virtue of a paper trail that goes back to the 18th Century.
Philippine disinterest (or is it cowardice) has left the Sultan and his followers with no choice.
Here we offer three:
1. Sell Sabah outright to Malaysia, thus making what is de facto a de jure reality. The Philippines itself was bought by the Americans from the Spanish after a requisite - and bloodless - Battle of Manila to satisfy Spain's imperial desire to save face. And then there was the United State's own purchase of Louisiana from the French, ad infinitum. The money (should be in billions of dollars) could help uplift the dignity of the Sulu Sultan's court and help pay off the Philippine's humongous debts.
2. Make the Sultanate of Sulu a co-protectorate with Malaysia, just as a country like Monaco is a protectorate of France. That there are two protectors in this case instead of one does not mean it cannot be done, but it would mean that the Sultanate of Sulu will happily revert back to its old autonomy now legitimized by international law.
3. Sulu and her sultanate secede from the Philippines (as to how remains a mystery) and join Malaysia where both place and institution will enjoy great status. The Sultanate of Sulu will now become part of the Malay States and the elective monarchy. Imagine our own erstwhile Sultan of Sulu sitting on the Malaysian throne as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, federal head of state, for five years until his turn comes up again in another election?
It is high-time the Sultan of Sulu dictate his terms.