Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is firm in its stance to preserve its territorial boundaries, including the controversial Ambalat region off Sebatik Island, near Tawau, which is shared by both Malaysia and Indonesia, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said Malaysia and Indonesia are committed to comprehensively resolving territorial land and sea boundary delimitation issues.
“So far, no agreement has been made through bilateral meetings related to Sebatik Island and the Sulawesi Sea.
“The State Government has been actively involved in the meetings led by the Foreign Affairs Ministry,” he said in response to Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Senallang-Warisan) who sought an explanation on the negotiations with Indonesia regarding Sebatik under the Sulawesi Sea Treaty at the State Legislative Assembly sitting, here, Monday.
Hajiji said the State Government will ensure that every negotiation or proposal involving the boundary delimitation of Sabah, Malaysia and Indonesia is presented and referred to the Sabah Cabinet first to obtain a basis for discussion, direction and decision.
“The State Government is firm in its position that the delimitation of Sabah on Sebatik is on the boundary line extending along 4°10’ starting from the East Pillar to the Low Water Line on the east side of the island.
“The maritime boundary signed through the Sulawesi Sea Treaty, which only involves 12 nautical miles, does not cause any loss to the State.
“The negotiation on setting the maritime boundary for the area that exceeds 12 nautical miles up to 200 nautical miles in the Sulawesi Sea (in the ND6 and ND7 areas), which is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), has yet to start.
“The border involving Sebatik, the ‘Intertidal’ area, is still under negotiation,” he said.
He added that the latest negotiation through the Special Technical Meeting (STM) on Nov 16-17 in Tangerang, Indonesia, ended without any development because both sides remained with their respective positions.
The Director-General of the Maritime Affairs Department, Foreign Affairs Ministry led Malaysia in the negotiations.
The State Government, Hajiji said, was represented by the State Secretary, the State Attorney-General, the Secretary of Home Affairs and Research, and the Lands and Surveys Director.
Meanwhile, Tungku Assemblyman Assafal P Alian retracted his statement relating to Ambalat Block during the previous sitting.
State Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim Yahya said he received a written complaint to refer Assafal to the rights and privilege committee for allegedly issuing a statement that misled the Assembly.
“I have sought Tungku Assemblyman’s (Assafal) explanation and I think the statement was not made with the intention to mislead the august House,” he said.
“However, as the statement was recorded in the Hansard dated Aug 10, 2023, the Tungku Assemblyman must rectify the statement by retracting it and to be recorded in today’s Hansard.
“I remind here that this is not a precedent case for other complaints to be referred to the rights and privilege committee.”
Assafal acknowledged that his “advice and reminders on Aug 10, 2023, during the Biodiversity Bill debate have caused confusion due to supporting facts.”
“I regret the confusion, sincerely retract my advice and reminders, and apologise for any confusion, inconvenience and discomfort caused by the statements.
“I assure you that this matter will not happen again,” he said.
Commending Assafal for his willingness to withdraw the statement, Kadzim said he showed he is a mature assemblyman.
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