On the 9th of February 2013, an armed group representing themselves as the Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo invaded Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia with orders from Jamalul Kiram III. Kiram is one of the many claimants to the throne of the now defunct Sultanate of Sulu.

Their objectives were to assert an unresolved territorial claim to eastern Sabah. The standoff with Malaysian authorities began peacefully at first but erupted into violence on the 1st of March resulting in casualties, some fatal.

We appeal to the international community to acknowledge the people of Sabah’s right to self-determination; to endorse the state’s constitutional sovereignty of the Malaysian government as valid and the desire of Sabahans to permanently reject the Sultanate of Sulu’s claim on our home.