Hajiji said such a victory further strengthens Sabah’s position in Malaysia, according to The Borneo Post.

He also said Sabahans, having chosen to join Malaysia through the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), would not recognise any external claims on the state.

“The Sabah government welcomes the decision and hopes that the (federal) government will take all appropriate action to put an end to the claim once and for all,” he was quoted as saying.

“Sabah, through its Attorney-General’s Chambers, will continue to collaborate with its federal counterpart in dealing with the case.”

Yesterday, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that the arbitration court that ordered Malaysia to make a payment of nearly US$15 billion to the self-proclaimed heirs of Sulu, the erstwhile rulers of the region, did not have jurisdiction in the case.

The dispute is linked to the Sulu heirs’ years-long claims to Sabah. The then-sultanate had leased Sabah to a British company in 1878 and the Borneo state was later absorbed into Malaysia. The Sulu sultanate ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, which are part of Mindanao in today’s Philippines.

A French arbitration court last year ordered Malaysia to pay the Sulu descendants over their claim. The government filed an application to cancel the award in Paris, while a Luxembourg court set aside the legal action payment, Malaysia said in January.

In March, a court in Paris upheld a stay order obtained by Malaysia on enforcement of the award.

Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said yesterday’s decision “implies” that the Paris appeals court will annul the US$15 billion award in a subsequent decision.