KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 -- The latest demand from the United Tausug Citizens (UTC) group for US$15 billion (RM70 billion) and recognition over Sabah is akin to an "extortion scheme", said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

Azalina said that UTC's demand, which constitutes about 16 per cent of the national budget, threatens the integrity of sovereign states and the principles of justice.

"The UTC's threat to sue Malaysia in the United States is alarming.

"We must address these spurious claims that risk 16 per cent of our national budget and exploit arbitration for profit, akin to extortion schemes," she wrote in a post on X.

Azalina said that the Sulu case, fuelled ...