Jamalul Kiram III, who claimed to be sultan of Sulu, dies at 75

QUEZON CITY, Philippines, Oct. 20 (UPI) —

Jamalul Kiram III, who attempted to reclaim the Malaysian territory of Sabah for the Philippines, died Sunday from kidney disease, his daughter said. He was 75.

The Malay Mail reported his daughter, Jacel Kiram-Hassan, told DZBB Radio in Quezon City in the Philippines her father "returned to our creator."

Kiram — sometimes called the sultan of Sulu — was hereditary ruler of a political entity that no longer exists. His Wikipedia entry says he once described himself as "the poorest sultan in the world."

When the Sultanate of Sulu became part of the Philippines, it included Sabah, an area on the island of Borneo. In 1878, the sultanate either ceded or leased the territory to the British North Borneo Co., with Malaya taking the position that the transaction was intended to be permanent.

Kiram sent 200 of his followers to Sabah in March as an invasion force. In three weeks, 68 people were killed, including some Malay police officers and civilians.

In her radio announcement, Kiram-Hassan said her father wanted his heirs to continue the effort to reclaim Sabah.