Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim refutes reports of Malaysia handing over 5,207 hectares to Indonesia, stating negotiations will proceed amicably.
BUKIT MERTAJAM: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has denied media reports claiming Malaysia ceded land to Indonesia as compensation for border villages.
He refuted claims that Malaysia had handed over 5,207 hectares of land to Indonesia.
The reports alleged the land was compensation for three villages in the Nunukan area near the Sabah-Kalimantan border.
However, Anwar said Malaysia would engage in amicable negotiations on the land compensation issue soon.
“The reports are not true. We will negotiate properly,” he told reporters after an event here.
Media reports had claimed three villages in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, had moved to Malaysia.
They also stated a boundary dispute in the Pulau Sebatik area remained unresolved.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sustainability Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup addressed the issue yesterday.
He said negotiations on Outstanding Boundary Problem areas were conducted harmoniously.
These talks followed international law and existing boundary agreements, he stated.
Kurup added they were not based on principles of reciprocity, compensation, or “profit and loss”.
The finalisation was sealed through a Malaysia-Indonesia Memorandum of Understanding on February 18, 2025.
This followed over 45 years of comprehensive and transparent technical negotiations.