Warisan Youth chief Terence Au said the allegation was made in a report by the Sabahkini2 portal, which also claimed that the party was friendly with the Sulu claimants.

“We strongly deny the allegation that Shafie has a good relationship with the Sulu claimants, as mentioned in the article,” The Borneo Post quoted him as saying.

Au pointed out that Shafie, the Semporna MP, had questioned the Sulu descendants’ claim for almost US$15 billion in damages from Malaysia.

Last week, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said the claimants’ case had been dismissed by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, describing it as a “final landmark victory” in the case.

The claimants sought relief in the Netherlands after a French court granted a stay order on the award, pending a decision on Malaysia’s claim that the order infringed on its sovereignty over Sabah.

The case stems from a long-running dispute with Malaysia over annual payments to the Sulu heirs as compensation for the cession of Sabah to the North Borneo Company in 1878.

Malaysia stopped the payments after an armed incursion by Sulu claimants in 2013 to pursue a claim of sovereignty over Sabah.

The Sulu heirs, who Malaysia said were funded by London-based litigation funder Therium, sought relief from the Dutch courts after their case stalled in France.

In June, the Dutch Court of Appeal upheld Malaysia’s challenge and dismissed the claimants’ application to enforce the arbitration award. This decision was upheld by the Netherlands Supreme Court.