THE maritime treaties signed between Indonesia and Malaysia does not include territories that are still being disputed, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Malaysia recently signed treaties with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) that ended 18 years of maritime dispute between the two countries, but did not cover territories such as Pulau Sebatik in south Sulawesi.
The 452sq km island is split between Indonesia and Malaysia, with the northern portion belonging to Sabah and the southern portion belonging to North Kalimantan.
“The treaty does not include territories that are currently under negotiations, such as Pulau Sebatik, because we will call a representative from Sabah to discuss the matter.
“It also does not involve the (maritime) borders along the Tanjung Pelepas Port (in Johor).
“The negotiations to complete the Sulawesi Sea borders will continue since Jokowi said according to his experts, the area belongs to Indonesia, while we stand firm the border (areas) belong to Malaysia.
“So we postponed the matter and continue to negotiate,” he told Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
The Tambun MP was replying to a question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Baru) on the government’s assurance that the newly-signed border agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia would not put Malaysia at a loss, particularly if any negative impact were to arise on maritime activities in the long term.
Anwar gave the assurance the government would not compromise the sovereignty of the country during the negotiations with Indonesia.
“There is no way that we will sacrifice even an inch of our land.
“We have made our stand and claims clear.
“Indonesia understood what we are asking for and they are clear with their claims as well.
“The issue of our country’s sovereignty being compromised should not arise because we want to settle this as best as we can,” he told the Lower House.
The Tambun MP was replying to a question by former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (PN-Pagoh) whether the government would compromise its sovereignty when negotiating the treaty.
Anwar also reaffirmed that Johor borders were not part of the treaty as it only covers Sabah.
“The Sultan of Johor has been informed that the treaty covers three nautical miles away from the border, and did not include Johor’s borders,” he said.
Anwar also dismissed claims by Takiyuddin that the treaties were done without taking into account opinions from local experts.
“Which maritime experts? I have mentioned discussion with the agencies involved such as Maritime Malaysia, the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Council, the Attorney-General, the Survey and Mapping Department, and the National Hydrographic Centre, before we proceeded with the agreement.
“Are there any new experts that Kota Baru wants to mention? Then find them,” he said.
