KOTA KINABALU – The Malaysian Foreign Ministry has been urged to engage with Sabah leaders regarding the recently signed Sulawesi treaty with Indonesia in order to address concerns felt by Sabahans over the disputed waters, a Sabah lawmaker said today.
Sabah assemblyman Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee said Wisma Putra should follow the example set by the Prime Minister’s Department, which directly engaged Sabah leaders in addressing the Sulu claim issue.
“Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin revealed that our prime minister and the president of Indonesia signed an agreement regarding the Sulawesi Sea (located south of Tawau) on June 8 this year, during the Indonesian president’s visit to Malaysia.
“Similar to how Law Minister Datuk Azalina (Othman Said) briefed the Sabah assembly members on the territorial balance issue of the Sulu claims, Wisma Putra should promptly extend the same courtesy to the Sabah assembly by briefing them on the Sulawesi and Ambalat issues,” said Yong, a former Sabah chief minister, here today.
“I hope the federal government understands the scepticism among the people of Sabah towards federal announcements, given the past instance of losing the oil-rich (blocks) L&M maritime region, measuring two million acres, to another neighbouring country in 2010.
“At that time, the Malaysian media reported that the resolution of the L&M issue was in exchange for Brunei resolving the Limbang claims (in Sarawak), but this assertion was later denied by the Brunei government."
Yong said this following Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin’s clarification on the oil-rich Ambalat block issue, where he had slammed a remark by Sabah Warisan lawmaker Assafal Alian that the government had ceded the area located in the Sulawesi Sea to Indonesia.
Dismissing Assafal's claim, Alamin welcomed inquiries to clarify the said agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia from his ministry, as he revealed the Ambalat block was still being negotiated and was not part of the Sulawesi treaty.
Towards this end, Yong stressed that clarity holds greater significance than mere official statements from the government, adding that he is also seeking clarification from the ministry as to whether Malaysia’s victory in the International Court of Justice on the Ligitan or Sipadan Island ownership was also upheld in the Sulawesi Sea agreement. – The Vibes, August 16, 2023
