KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun has once again rejected calls to debate the Sulu Sultanate claims in the Lower House.
Debating the matter in Parliament, he argued, could potentially reveal the government's legal strategies to the contesting party.
"If we discuss this matter in Parliament, we do not know what will be said, and we (could) reveal the government's strategy.
"Wouldn't this be against the interest of the government in the litigation process? Do we want to show our strategy to the world?
"The first rule of litigation is the element of surprise, and it is the same for the rule of war. We are defending our country's sovereignty, so do we want to reveal our strategy?" Azhar said.
He said it was his "responsibility" to prevent any possibility of government strategies to be revealed in such a public space.
Earlier, Putatan member of Parliament Awang Husaini Sahari had asked the speaker to allow for a motion requesting the Foreign Ministry to provide a full report explaining why the cession payments to the Sulu Sultanate were stopped.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Pakatan Harapan-Port Dickson) said the speaker should allow the Parliament to debate the issue as it involved national sovereignty.
"How can we allow our sovereignty to be challenged, and not allow Parliament to discuss this?" Anwar said.
It was reported last week that Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) Luxembourg-registered subsidiaries were seized by descendants of the Sulu Sultanate.
Foreign news reported that Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz) and Petronas South Caucasus were seized by bailiffs after a French arbitration court ruled in March that Malaysia had to pay the descendants of the sultanate.
The seizure was part of legal efforts launched in 2017 by the heirs to receive compensation for land in Sabah they said their ancestor leased to a British trading company in 1878.
Malaysia stopped paying the Sulu Sultanate heirs their RM5,300 cession money in 2013, following the attack by a force sent by self-described ruler Jamalul Kiram III on Lahad Datu the same year.
Malaysia has since obtained a stay order from French courts due to questions of sovereignty.