Sultan Jamalul Kiram III: A king without a kingdom?
In 2007, Forbes declared Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of
Brunei, the world’s richest monarch, with a net worth of $22 billion and a life
of pomp and splendor in the largest palace in the world. In stark contrast is
Jamalul Kiram III, Sultan of Sulu, who lives in a small home in Taguig, Metro
Manila—a home in danger of being foreclosed.
“Hindi ko kayang mag-shopping sa mall,” Kiram told I-Witness
host Sandra Aguinaldo in the documentary Haring Walang Kaharian. “I don’t have
the money to spend.”
Staking their claim
Politics plays a part in why Jamalul Kiram III’s family has
fallen on hard times. He is only one of many descendants claiming the sultanate
of Sulu—and with it, the ownership of Sabah. Since siblings may inherit the
sultanate, there are several Kiram family members insisting that they are the
rightful descendants of the original sultan.
According to Kiram, he is descended from Sultan Sharif
ul-Hashim, the first sultan and founder of the Sulu Sultanate and a descendant
of the Prophet Mohammad, a report on
Balitanghali said.
According to the report, Kiram was born in Maimbung, Sulu in
1938. He studied at Notre Dame of Jolo College and took up law at Manuel L.
Quezon University.
His name first became familiar to the public in 2007, when
he ran for senator under the ticket of former president Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo.
He was part of Team Unity, along with Edgardo Angara, Joker
Arroyo, Ralph Recto, and Tito Sotto. Although he did not win in the election,
he was the leading candidate in Lanao del Norte, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Before this, he served as Arroyo's Presidential Adviser on
Muslim Royalty Concerns in 2005, was on the Joint Legislative and Executive
Advisory Council on the Sabah Claim from 2000 to 2004, and was a member of the
Philippine Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2000.
Based on information released by Malacañang, Kiram's father,
Datu Punjungan Kiram, was a former Crown Prince but was stripped of his title.
Punjungan was a brother of Sultan Esmail Kiram I.
When Esmail died, his son Mahakuttah Kiram was crowned
sultan. But even then, Jamalul's father insisted his was the rightful claim to
the throne.
Mahakuttah Kiram was the last sultan of Sulu to be
recognized by the Philippine government, and was installed with a public
coronation by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1974, according to the Royal
Sultanate of Sulu website.
But in his résumé, obtained by GMA News Research when he ran
for senator in 2007, Jamalul III claimed he was proclaimed the 33rd sultan of
Sulu in 1984, and crowned in 1986, the Balitanghali report said.
According to Malacañang, the information they released was
not an official genealogical chart or family tree, nor did it represent the
official position of the Philippines, the report said.
‘Sabah is never for sale’
Jamalul Kiram III shot back into the spotlight on February
9, 2013, when his brother, Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram, and over a hundred
supporters illegally entered Lahad Datu, Sabah to stake their claim on the
land. By February 24, Malaysian troops had surrounded Kiram’s supporters and
the Philippine government had sent a ship to Sabah, asking them to come home.
It has been decades since the Philippines actively pursued
its claim on Sabah; however, the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu receive a nominal
yearly rent from the Malaysian government. Once divided amongst themselves, a
Kiram family member told ‘I-Witness,’ each heir receives less than P700.
A report by GMA News said that Kiram and his followers “were
demanding recognition from Malaysia and a renegotiation of the original terms
of lease…including a rent higher than the current paltry sum paid by the
Malaysian government.”
These demands have been rejected by the Malaysian officials,
and tension escalated until March 1—when the standoff turned violent and
resulted in two dead Malaysian police officers and a reported 12 dead among
Kiram’s supporters.
Despite this, Raja Muda’s group has no plans to return to
the Philippines. In an earlier report by Malaysia’s The Star Online, he said
their group was willing to fight to the death.
This echoes the statement Dayang Dayang Jacel Kiram, the
sultan’s daughter, made to Sandra Aguinaldo in February: “This is not about
money. This is about principle.”
Her words offer a look into the personal nature of the
sultan’s claim: “Grabe ang pagkahanga ko sa daddy ko. Nakita ko yung
pinagtiisan niya with all the offers that have been made to him. He did not
take them because my lolo said that Sabah is never for sale.”
‘Normal lang kami’
Back in the Philippines, the life of Sultan Jamalul Kiram
III is suprisingly ordinary. He has nine children—and like ordinary parents,
the sultan and his wife must find ways to make ends meet. Helping them are his
two daughters, Dayang Dayang Jacel and Dayang Dayang Jahara.
Jahara, a call center agent, says there is “nothing special”
about being a princess apart from having the dignity that comes with their
family name.
“Normal lang kami,” she says. “Akala ng mga tao mayaman
kami, pero nagko-commute ako sa office. ‘Yung salary, nagagamit para sa amang
sumasailalim sa dialysis.”
Kiram is now suffering from kidney disease, and undergoes
dialysis weekly.
Jahara remembers hearing tales of their family’s past—of a
vast collection of gold, of how the crown prince was not allowed to set foot on
the ground. “I was amazed,” she admits. “Napaisip ako, ‘bakit kaya ngayon,
hindi na ganun?’”
Still, Jacel and Jahara both speak highly of their father,
now 74 years old. Their father has received offers to sell Sabah for a lump
sum, Jacel told ‘I-Witness,’ but he refused despite being in need of money.
Jacel added: “Ang assessment ko nga, yung pagiging sultan,
ibinibigay yan sa pusong sultan—sa may mabuting puso.”
A question of finances
As of March 4, the Raja Muda group still refuses to return
to the Philippines. President Benigno Aquino III has stated that the Kiram
family did not have the resources to stage the standoff, and called upon their
alleged “backers” to stop aggravating the situation: “Hindi po kakayanin ng
angkan ni Sultan Jamalul Kiram III na gawing mag-isa ang ganitong uri ng
pagkilos.”
Aquino added that while the Philippines’ claim to Sabah
stands, the supporters of Kiram should not have acted without the Filipino
government.
“Pinalubha nila ang isyung ito, at ginagawa nila ito habang
inilalagay sa peligro ang daan-daang libong Pilipino,” said Aquino, saying that
the current situation is one without a solution in view.
What the Kiram family plans to do in the event that Sabah is
ceded to them isn’t clear, either. After all, how would you develop a province
and take care of its people if the sultanate itself is penniless?
A line from Aguinaldo’s documentary reflects on this
problem: “Wala na ang karangyaan at kapangyarihan. Ano pa nga ba ang silbi ng
hari kung wala na ang kaharian?”
‘I am the sultan of Sulu’
There are many things complicating Jamalul Kiram III’s claim
to Sabah—the contested line of succession, their family’s difficult financial
status, the violent standoff in Lahad Datu.
But if you ask the family, they say they will never give up
on their claim, nor will they tire of spreading the word to whoever will
listen.
Princess Fatima Kiram, the sultan’s wife and spokesperson,
told ‘I-Witness’ that her husband’s resolve is firm: “Siya ‘yung taong...’if
this is God’s will,’ lagi niyang sinasabi ‘yun. If you believe in God, you
don’t regret.”
When asked how he would like to be remembered, Jamalul Kiram
III’s answer was simple: “As a generous leader...[I am] the sultan of Sulu.” —
BM, GMA News
