Jamalul ibni Punjungan Kiram III (July 16, 1938 – October 20, 2013)[1][2] was a former self-proclaimed Sultan of the Sulu Sultanate[3] who claimed to be "the poorest sultan in the world".[4] He was known as an unsuccessful candidate for senator in the Philippine general elections in 2007. In 2013, Kiram III sparked a controversy when he revived a dispute between the Philippines and Malaysia by leading an intrusion into the eastern part of Sabah. His daughter is Princess Jacel Kiram, a proponent of the Sabah claim of the Philippines in 2016.[5][6][7][8]
Kiram III studied in Jolo Central Elementary School from 1946 to 1951. He finished high school at the Sulu High School in 1955 and took up pre-law from 1956 to 1958 at Notre Dame of Jolo. He studied for a Bachelor of Law degree from Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) in 1964 but was unable to finish it and pursued a career in dance instead.[2] He was married to Dayang Hadja Fatima Celia H. Kiram, and resided in Taguig, Metro Manila. He had two daughters, including Jacel Kiram.[citation needed]
He claimed to be responsible for the release of the American and the German nationals from the captivity of the lost command of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1984.[citation needed] He established livelihood programs in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan through the Sulu-Marine and Seven Seas Corporations.[citation needed] During the Zamboanga City crisis, he criticised his previous ally, Nur Misuari, for waging a war against the Philippine government.[citation needed] He also served as the president of the Philippine Pencak Silat Association and once served as a board member in the Philippine Olympic Committee.[citation needed] In the 2007 elections, he unsuccessfully ran as Senator under the banner of TEAM Unity.[11] He had previously Legislative and Executive Advisory Council on the Sabah Claim Presidential Adviser on Muslim Royalties' Concern under Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.[citation needed] With his retirement, the succession rights of the sultanate was disputed among his heirs such as Mohammad Akijal Atti.[citation needed] The dispute on the succession rights ended on November 11, 2012, when claimants from the Kiram family (descendants of Punjungan Kiram only) met together in Sulu, ending their decade-long feud.[citation needed] After the family meeting, Kiram III once again became the self-proclaimed Sultan alongside Ismael Kiram II. He also declared Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram as "crown prince".[5] He was a member of the Ruma Betchara (Council of the Sultan) during the reign of his late uncle, Esmail Kiram.[citation needed] He acted in place of his father during the absence of his father Punjungan Kiram while in Sabah and later proclaimed himself in 1984 as 33rd Sultan of Sulu and was crowned on June 15, 1986, in Jolo, Sulu.[citation needed] Kiram III forged the century-old relationships between Sulu and China during a so-called royal visit to Dezhou, where the descendants of Sulu King Paduka Pahala live, in the Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China in September 1999 with an 87-man entourage.[citation needed] The visit concluded with the signing of the agreement between Hebei Province and the Sulu Sultanate on agricultural technology exchange.[citation needed] He also forged bilateral relationships between the Don Sasagawa Foundation of Japan and the Sultan Jamalul Ahlam Foundation.[citation needed] Jamalul Alam was the recipient of various hospital equipment from Japan which were in turn donated to the Sulu Provincial Hospital in 1992.[citation needed]
Beginning on February 9, 2013, approximately 200 men led by his brother, Agbimuddin Kiram intruded into neighbouring Sabah in Malaysia by entering illegally into Lahad Datu, in an effort to assert the former Sulu Sultanate's claim to the state. Kiram was reported to have directed them to intrude and not leave, claiming that "Malaysia is only renting Sabah" from the heirs of the Sultanate. The men, many of whom were heavily armed, engaged in a standoff with Malaysian police and armed forces which saw the death of 56 of his followers while the rest were either captured or escaped.[2][12][13] The intrusion into neighbouring territory was believed to have been caused when the Philippine government treated him and his wife only as "decorations" during the signing of a framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).[2] President Benigno Aquino III blamed Kiram and his followers for dragging the Philippines into the dispute, with a bad impact on overseas Filipinos in Malaysia and hurting relations between the two.[2][14][15] His act drew criticism from most Filipinos in Sabah as many of them have become a victim of discrimination and retaliation from the local Borneo tribes due to the killing of Malaysian police who mainly comprising the indigenous Borneo races,[16] as well from other claimants who decried his actions and want to retake the eastern part of Sabah through peaceful means without any bloodshed.[17][18][19][20]
Kiram III's daughter, Princess Jacel Kiram, is the designated spokeswoman of the late sultan and the most known of all the members of the Sulu royal family. The princess is currently living in a subdivision established by the Philippine government in Taguig in 1974, along with other members of Kiram III's family. Her father's royal bloodline established her royal ties with the Muslim royals of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-tawi, Maguindanao, and Lanao del Sur. Her grandmother from the maternal side came from Pangasinan in the Ilocos Region, while her grandfather came from Sorsogon in the Bicol Region. Her name is literally an amalgamation of the Muslim name, Jamulul (from her father), and the Christian name, Celia (from her mother). In 2002, she finished her bachelor of arts with a degree in Inter-Disciplinary Studies at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde. During that time, her thesis, “The Sulu Sultanate’s Genealogy and its Relation to the Philippines’ Claim to Sabah” was declared as Best Thesis. In 2013, she married Moh Yusop Hasan, a Filipino army major. In 2017, she headed the Philippine delegation on the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students in the World Federation of Democratic Youth held in Sochi, Russia. She was also a delegate of the Philippines to China in celebration of the 600th Year of Sulu-China Friendship, coinciding with the book launching of Friendship Without Borders, in Guangxi. Jacel also participated in a United Nations-sponsored conference on Drug Control Program held at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. She was also the chairman of People's Coalition for Peace.[27]
^Michael Lim Ubac (March 7, 2013). "Aquino: I won't allow Sulu sultan to drag PH into war with Malaysia". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2013. President Aquino said in a statement, 'I appeal to you (Jamalul Kiram III) — we should be really clear on this — this incident is wrong. If this is wrong, why should we (the government) lend support to this? We should support what is right… which will lead us to brighter prospects; the wrong option will only bring us ruin. That's it, that's my simple message.' He also added 'Let's not forget: What they (the Jamalul Kiram III faction) are pushing for is their right as so-called heirs of the sultan of Sulu. It's not yet clear if their rights have been transferred to the Philippines. But we (the Philippines citizens and our nation) will all be affected by their conflict (with Malaysia).'
1 The last recognised Sultan of Sulu was Sultan Jamalul Kiram II and based on historical records in Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei, he died in 1936 and had seven daughters but no son which in Islamic law, a woman cannot be appointed as heir or successor. (note)
