Malaysia will not compromise on country's rights, sovereignty - PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: The recently signed Malaysia-Indonesia maritime border agreement does not in any way put the interest, rights and sovereignty of the country at stake, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said Malaysia will never compromise on sovereignty, and the agreement on the maritime border was made carefully, taking into account the views of the relevant parties and only involved areas agreed upon by both countries.

"Is it comprehensive? Yes, it is a comprehensive settlement, but what has not been agreed upon is a small area involving the Sabah border...Indonesia is clear with our demands and we are also clear with their demands.

"The issue of compromise does not arise...the country's sovereignty cannot be sacrificed...we are firm in our stand that we will not sacrifice an inch of our land," said the prime minister during the Ministers Question Time (MQT) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (PN-Pagoh) who wanted to know whether the Malaysia-Indonesia maritime boundary agreement signed recently was comprehensive in safeguarding the country's maritime rights and sovereignty.

The Prime Minister said that before the maritime border agreement was signed, the government had taken into account the views of various relevant parties such as experts from the Maritime Department, the Foreign Ministry, the Survey and Mapping Department, the National Hydrographic Centre and the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"After they have studied thoroughly and at the final meeting with me, only after we are all satisfied that we sealed the deal...as neighbouring countries, we must resolve matters that have been going on for 18 years.

"So that's why on June 8 we signed the agreement based on our interests, border that we do not dispute and based on international laws, especially the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention," he said.

Anwar also said that the recently signed agreement did not involve the areas that are still under negotiation, namely Sebatik Island, Sabah, and the boundary line for the South Sulawesi Sea.

The agreement also does not involve the Tanjung Pelepas Port area, he added.

Meanwhile, in response to a supplementary question by Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) on whether the stakeholders were consulted before the agreement was signed, Anwar said the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, was informed about the demarcation of the boundary of the state's territorial waters.

"Sabah is not included in this agreement. The Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor was informed that the negotiations to finalise Sebatik Island and the area in Tawau have been postponed pending a new agreement," he added.

To another question from Takiyuddin, whether the agreement also took into account the border agreement signed by Singapore and Indonesia in 2009, Anwar said the government had consistently objected to the agreement signed by the two republics.

"I have also personally informed (Indonesian) President Jokowi, that we (Malaysia) cannot accept the agreement as it affects the interests of the country," he said.

Despite answering the questions, Anwar hit out at Takiyuddin over his intention in raising such questions, describing them as cheap political stunts.

The prime minister said he hoped that the issue of Malaysia's relations with Indonesia would not be politicised.

-- BERNAMA