Malaysia has classified one of the descendants of the Sulu sultanate as a terrorist, in a move to safeguard the country's sovereignty amid a territorial dispute between the two sides.
The interior ministry gazetted Muhammad Fuad Abdullah Kiram as a terrorist under the country's anti-money laundering and terrorism laws.
Fuad, 69, is one of the eight members of the Sulu group who claim to be the heir to the sultanate.
In 2022, the claimants have obtained a RM62.95 billion ($14.2 billion) award against Malaysia following their territorial claim over Sabah.
Following that in July, they seized the assets belonging to Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) registered in Luxembourg as compensation for the claim with a value of over $2 billion.
However, Petronas later informed that the two assets have been disposed of and the proceeds have been returned.
In the meantime, last month the court in Paris rejected the Sulu group's bid to enforce the award by maintaining Malaysia's delay in enforcing the order.
