# Jamalul Kiram II

Jamalul Kiram II (27 March 1868 – 7 June 1936) was the sultan of Sulu from 1894 to 1915. During his reign, he signed treaties with several nations. He served under both Spain and the United States.

## Ascension and rule

Jamalul Kiram II rose to the throne following Sultan Harun Ar-Rashid allegedly being forced to abdicate in 1894 after Kiram's Datu supporters elected him to be sultan. Sultan Jamalul Kiram II ascended to the throne after undergoing the Gibha ceremony, a traditional rite through which a sultan officially becomes the ruler. This ceremony was overseen by Panglima Bandahala, who inherited the responsibility from Binatal Arah. Panglima Bandahala played a pivotal role in the history of the Luuk and Tandu municipalities in Sulu. As a trusted adviser and close relative of the Sultan, he held significant positions such as Municipal President and peace emissary. His contributions to the Sultanate of Sulu earned him the reputation of being "a warrior and hero among his peers." Sultan Jamalul Kiram II frequently sought his counsel, addressing him respectfully as "Bapa," meaning uncle. Panglima Bandahala is also the grandfather of Sayyid Capt. Kalingalan Caluang, with their lineage tracing back to Sattiya Munoh, son of Sayyid Qasim, a Hadhrami descendant from the Ba 'Alawi sada.
Over the following decade, tensions in the American-controlled Philippines would break out into insurrection and war, leading the United States to negotiate the Kiram–Bates Treaty in 1899, believing the Sultan would be able to suppress Moro resistance to American colonization, as well as ensuring Sulu neutrality in the war broadly. Sultan Jamalul Kiram II and other government advisers and datus, most notably Hadji Butu, agreed to the treaty both desiring American economic support to Sulu's dismal finances, alongside fears of American aggression should they decline.
The treaty was retracted on the 2 March 1904 however, with the Office of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt declaring the Kiram–Bates Treaty null and void, following the suppression of the Filipinos to the north. With annexation looming, Kiram joined the Moros struggle against the American expansion, prolonging an asymmetrical war across the Sulu Archipelago against superior equipment and manpower reserves the US possessed. After nine years of warfare, Kiram resigned himself to the Carpenter Treaty on 22 March 1915, effectively constituted the fall of the Sulu Sultanate and enshrined full American sovereignty over its former lands. This officially concluded over 400 years of Sulu independent sovereignty, although the war gains had already been organized into the Department of Mindanao and Sulu.
Kiram was appointed as a senator of the Philippines from the 12th district in 1931, serving for one term until 1934.
Kiram continued to live in his residence at Maimbung for the remainder of his life, dying after kidney troubles there on the 7 June 1936. He did not have any son or heir. Although he had seven daughters, no woman could be appointed as heir or successor according to Islamic law.

## Photographs

One of the earliest photograph of Jamalul Kiram II was during the reign of Sultan Harun Ar-Rashid (1886–1894). He was depicted riding on a horseback accompanied by several servants.
During the American colonial period, he was photographed during official visits by American officials. He was described as wearing a costume blended with local and European aesthetics.

## The North Borneo Agreement and Malaysia Sulu Case

Before his long reign, his father Jamal ul-Azam signed many agreements, including an 1878 deal with two European merchants, who were representatives of the British North Borneo Company. Under this agreement, the Sulu Sultan gave control of lands in North Borneo, now known as Sabah and part of Malaysia, in exchange for an annual fee to be paid by the British.
Due to Sultan Azam's death and the subsequent political instability following his death, it was not until the reign of Jamalul Kiram that all cession monies were paid. Since Kiram passed the sovereignty of Sulu to the United States, he made the 1903 Deed of Confirmation ceding the territory of North Borneo to the British Company. The territories ceded were based from the 1878 grant made by his father. In 1915, he was relieved from his "temporal powers" as sultan and by 1936, the Philippine Commonwealth had stopped recognizing the Sultanate of Sulu.
There is still debate on whether the Sultan leased or ceded the area of Sabah under the agreement.
Malaysia inherited the deal in 1963, when the Federation of Malaysia was formed. However, Malaysia stopped annual payments of 5,300 ringgit ($1,200) to the sultan's descendants after the bloody Lahad Datu incursion of 2013, carried out by followers of the self-proclaimed Sultan, Jamalul Kiram III. Years later, eight of these Sulu heirs, who insisted they were not involved in the standoff, hired lawyers to pursue legal action based on the original commercial deal.
According to the Litigation Finance Journal, this legal dispute between the Malaysian government and the Sulu heirs has been "one of the most high profile international arbitration cases in recent times, raising issues around state sovereignty, and the role of third-party funders in international arbitration". Another expert analysis called this a "highly controversial ad hoc arbitration, in which neither the alleged arbitration clause nor the development of the procedure were accepted by the parties or by the courts of the headquarters, Spain".
In February 2022, Gonzalo Stampa - the arbitrator for the case - awarded US$14.9 billion to the Sultan of Sulu's heirs, who have since sought to enforce the award against Malaysian state-owned assets around the world. It is noteworthy that the High Court of Madrid had annulled the procedure presided over by Stampa, who then moved the case to Paris, where he announced a verdict against Malaysia. In a crucial recent development, Stampa has been convicted of contempt of court for "knowingly disobeying rulings and orders from the Madrid High Court of Justice", and sentenced to six months in prison.
According to Law360, the Spanish courts' decision to move ahead with criminal proceedings against Stampa is a significant "victory for the Malaysian government". This follows two other wins the country secured in the case in June 2023, with a Dutch appeals court refusing to enforce the award on account of Stampa's annulled appointment by a Spanish court, and a French appeals court similarly blocking the enforcement of the award due to Stampa's lack of authority on the case.
On 10 November 2023, the Madrid Court filed criminal charges against Stampa over his role in handing the US$14.92 billion arbitration award to the eight Sulu claimants. On 5 January 2024, Stampa was convicted for contempt of court. He was sentenced to six months in prison and banned from acting as an arbitrator for one year for "knowingly disobeying rulings and orders from the Madrid High Court of Justice".
On May 17, 2024, the Madrid Court of Appeal upheld the contempt of court conviction and sentence against Stampa, upholding his six-month prison sentence, and a one-year ban from practicing as an arbitrator.
The Madrid Court highlighted that the arbitrator's appointment was a judicial decision made before the arbitration process. Consequently, once the nullification of the appointment was confirmed, all subsequent arbitral proceedings stemming from that appointment were rendered invalid, as if they had never occurred.
Malaysian Minister Azalina Othman said, "In its judgment, the Madrid Court of Appeal confirms that Stampa knowingly and wilfully disobeyed the clear rulings and orders of the Madrid High Court of Justice resulting from the nullification of his appointment as arbitrator."
Later on May 30, 2024, Malaysian state-owned petroleum firm Petronas moved a Manhattan court to seek directions for litigation funding firm Therium and its parent company to turn over subpoenaed financial documents and communications.
Petronas' Azerbaijani arm said it would sue the companies and their lawyers in Spain over losses from the seizure of assets in Luxembourg.
Former Spanish Judge Josep Galvez — barrister at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square Chambers, which the lawyers of Sulu claimants Paul Cohen and Elisabeth Mason also associate with — said the Madrid Court's ruling underscored the importance of rigorous compliance with procedural requirements and judicial orders under Spanish law, as failure to do so could invite severe penalties. "The conviction of Stampa serves as a lesson for international arbitration practitioners, emphasizing the paramount importance of adhering to judicial orders in Spain," he wrote.
On 6 September 2024, the Dutch Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the Sulus to enforce the US$15 billion arbitration award against Malaysia. The ruling came as a continuation of previous decisions in Malaysia's favor, such as those by the Hague Court of Appeal upholding Malaysia's challenge against the award, and the Paris Court of Appeal annulling an attempt by the Sulu group to mortgage a Malaysian diplomatic building in Paris.
On 3 October 2024, Malaysia's Federal Court upheld the death sentences of seven Filipino men involved in the 2013 Lahad Datu invasion, which had resulted in the deaths of nine Malaysian security personnel. The ruling was seen as a step toward ensuring justice and strengthening national security in Malaysia.
On November 7, 2024, the French Court of Cassation—the highest court in the French judicial system—annulled a $15 billion arbitration ruling against Malaysia. This decision marked a significant legal victory for Malaysia and reinforced its sovereignty in a dispute with the self-proclaimed Sulu heirs. The ruling highlighted irregularities in the arbitration process led by Gonzalo Stampa and raised concerns about practices such as forum shopping and unregulated litigation funding in European courts.
The French court's decision was deemed a significant "win" for Malaysia that effectively marked the end of the Sulu case by several publications, including Law.com and Law360. Keith Ellison, former vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Minnesota attorney general, pointed out that the case highlighted the enormous scope for "corruption," irresponsible profiteering, and foreign influence operations to subvert arbitration proceedings".
Following Malaysia's legal victory in the French Court, Paul Cohen argued that the ruling allows the Sulu heirs to lease Sabah to other nations, such as China and the Philippines. Cohen also suggested that accepting the French court's decision implies recognition of the Sulu Sultanate descendants' sovereignty over Sabah, which Malaysia disputes. In response, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said dismissed Cohen's statements as baseless and reaffirmed Sabah's status as part of Malaysia, citing historical and legal foundations such as the Cobbold Commission and the 1963 referendum.
In early November 2024, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. These laws reaffirmed the Philippines' maritime territories and rights to natural resources across the South China Sea, including Sabah, drawing strong criticism from Malaysia. On November 15, 2024, Kuala Lumpur lodged a diplomatic protest against the two maritime laws, arguing that they infringed upon Malaysia's territorial boundaries in the South China Sea.