← 返回新闻首页

Complex history, deep pain

The Sulu Sultanate is looking for a fresh start, but healing the wound left by the Lahad Datu intrusion will require far more than diplomacy and dialogue.

The Star MalaysiaPhilip Golingai2026-10-03 23:00查看原文 ↗

Sultan Phugdalun Kiram (right, in red) and Raja Muda Alianapia Kiram at the enthronement ceremony in Zamboanga City. — Photos: PHILIP GOLINGAI/The Star

TO the gentle rhythm of a gong, a Tausug man bearing the Sulu Sultanate flag entered a Zamboanga City hotel ballroom on Monday, signalling the start of an enthronement ceremony for a new crown prince of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.

The Punjungan family – largely dormant since orchestrating the 2013 Lahad Datu intrusion – is attempting a resurgence. Their vehicle: the elevation of Datu Alianapia Kiram, 73, as Raja Muda (crown prince, or Ladja Murah in Tausug). Alianapia is first in line to his older brother, 83-year-old Sultan Phugdalun Kiram, who claims to be Sultan of Sulu.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access

Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.

RM 13.90/month RM 11.12 /month

Billed as RM 11.12 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

RM 12.33/month RM 9.87 /month

Billed as RM 118.40 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

pgolingai@thestar.com.my

Thank you for your report!

(Podcast) Poll position: Johor, Negri Sembilan and what's next with Philip Golingai

‘Sabah and Sulu are brothers’

A new political calculus