Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has firmly dismissed allegations that Malaysia surrendered 5,207 hectares of land to Indonesia as compensation involving three villages in the Nunukan area along the Sabah–Kalimantan border, describing the claim as false and misleading.
Speaking during a Special Parliamentary Information Session on the Malaysia–Indonesia border issue at the Dewan Rakyat on February 4, 2026, Anwar clarified that the areas in question fall under what is known as Outstanding Boundary Problems (OBP), meaning their status has never been conclusively determined by either country. As such, the land cannot be described as belonging to Malaysia or Indonesia, as negotiations over the boundaries have remained unresolved for decades.
He explained that the determination of the Malaysia–Indonesia border, including the disputed villages, is governed strictly by historical international agreements rather than any form of territorial exchange or compensation. According to Anwar, the process does not involve concepts such as reciprocity, profit and loss, or land swaps, contrary to what has been claimed.
Anwar outlined that Malaysia and Indonesia are bound by several longstanding agreements originating from the colonial era. These include the 1891 Boundary Convention covering Sabah and Sarawak, the 1915 Boundary Agreement specific to Sabah, and the 1928 Boundary Convention signed in The Hague, which applies to a limited sector in Sarawak. He said these instruments continue to guide border negotiations and define what can legitimately be discussed between both countries.
He added that certain areas have been recognised in official records since as early as 1919 as being subject to dispute. While Malaysia has never confirmed ownership of these areas, it has also never formally claimed them as Malaysian territory, underscoring that the matter remains unresolved rather than conceded.
The Prime Minister also cautioned that several sensitive aspects of the negotiations with Indonesia are still ongoing and require careful handling. These include five land border areas, intertidal zones along the Sabah–North Kalimantan sector, and four unresolved areas in the Sarawak–West Kalimantan OBP sector. All of these, he said, remain under active negotiation and have yet to be finalised.
Anwar urged restraint in public statements on the issue, warning that careless or politically motivated claims could jeopardise national interests and strain bilateral relations. He stressed that border negotiations should not be exploited for narrow political gains, especially when discussions are incomplete.
He also pointed to past allegations involving the Ambalat maritime area, noting that similar claims of territory being handed over were made despite the issue never having been concluded. According to Anwar, such accusations only create confusion and misrepresent the reality of ongoing diplomatic processes between Malaysia and Indonesia.
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