KINIGUIDE | Malaysians woke up on the morning of March 1 to news that the country has to pay US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) to descendants of the last Sulu sultan, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II.

More bemusement followed with the reaction of the Malaysian government indicating they would challenge the validity of the ruling by Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa.

In this Kiniguide, we take a closer look at the background of the issue that began almost 150 years to the time of colonial Borneo.

Q: What is the 1878 agreement that formed the basis for the arbitration ruling?

A: The 1878 "treaty" was an agreement that led the then Sultan of Sulu, Sultan Jamal Al Alam, to cede Sabah (then known as North Borneo) to the Dent & Overbeck Company.