IT will be wiser and prudent for the Malaysian government to seek a settlement with the purported heirs of the Sulu sultanate than continuing to fight a protracted and expensive legal battle, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy said today.

The former academic, who is an expert on political science and international relations, said as it stands, the open legal confrontation between Malaysia and the Sulu heirs looks set to continue in the arbitration courts in different parts of Europe.

He added that the claimants may be seeking extreme demands, which run into billions of ringgit, in anticipation of negotiated settlement in the future.

“Malaysia, rather than engaging in constant sabre-rattling, might want to think whether a negotiated settlement might be the best possible approach.

“I am sure both sides might have already been approached by third parties to adopt a more amicable approach.

“Rather than spending millions in taxpayers’ money engaging expensive foreign law firms, setting up a ‘war office’ with experts and others, Malaysia might want to think out of the box.

“The situation is tricky, but the imperative of sovereignty must take precedence in terms of options adopted to resolve the matter once and for all,” Ramasamy said in a statement today.

He added that as a result of the ongoing open legal confrontation between Malaysia and the Sulu heirs, lawyers on both sides are raking in massive sums in litigation fees.

Earlier this week, law minister Azalina Othman Said said Putrajaya will use all of its powers and resources to block the bid to seize any national assets by parties claiming to be heirs of the now-defunct Sulu sultanate.

She said the Malaysian government will not compromise on matters of sovereignty and national interest.

On January 24, the District Court of Luxembourg decided to lift or set aside a seizure order on two Petronas subsidiaries and their assets. The seizure order was previously issued last July 11 upon request of the alleged Sulu heirs.

Malaysia is also currently challenging an ex parte Exequatur Order – a May 18, 2022 order which recognised arbitrator Gondoza Stampa’s purported arbitration award in Luxembourg – before the Luxembourg Court of Appeal. – March 4, 2023.