The Philippines yesterday brushed off a diplomatic protest by Malaysia over claims by a Filipino Muslim sultan to the neighbouring country's eastern state of Sabah.

The Malaysian Foreign Ministry sent a protest note to the Manila government last week following a proposal by the newly installed Sultan of Sulu to forward the Sabah claim to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

"The case was filed by a private person. The Malaysian government knows that it is not the Philippine government that is pursuing the claim," Philippines Foreign Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin told reporters.

Rodinood Julaspi Kiram, 55, has pledged to renew a claim to Sabah after he was crowned in Manila as the 29th sultan of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.

The sultan said he would seek the help of the Philippine government to bring the case to the ICJ.

Freedom of speech

The Sultanate of Sulu obtained Sabah from the Sultanate of Brunei in the 18th century as a gift for helping put down a rebellion.

Britain later leased Sabah and transferred control of the territory to Malaysia in 1965.

"We do not foresee a strain on the bilateral ties between the Philippines and Malaysia," Ebdalin said.

"We cannot stop a person from speaking his mind. What he said is covered by the freedom of speech. We can't coerce him not to file a case before the ICJ. He did nothing wrong."

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar has expressed confidence that the case would be futile, pointing out that Sabah was recognised as part of Malaysia when the case of Sipadan and Ligitan islands off Borneo was decided by the ICJ.

The court ruled that the islands belonged to Malaysia and not Indonesia.