Anwar denies ceding land to Indonesia, says Sabah border based on historical treaties

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told Parliament today that Malaysia is still in talks with Jakarta to resolve longstanding land disputes along the Sabah–Kalimantan border, rejecting claims that Putrajaya had ceded any territory.

He reiterated that it is untrue that Malaysia ceded 5,207 hectares of land to Indonesia, saying the borders were determined in accordance with agreements dating back as early as 1891 and 1915.

“Negotiations for the redrawing of the border began in 1977 and were resolved in stages,” said the Tambun MP.

He added that the most recent round of talks started in 2019 and was finalised between 2022 and 2023, but have yet to be ratified.

“But in our opinion, it must be expedited to preserve the good diplomatic ties between the two countries based on international conventions and agreements that I mentioned previously,” he added.

Anwar then said the negotiations involved all key Sabah authorities.

“They were involved in all aspects of negotiations, and the agreement came from the Sabah government before it was finalised with the Malaysian federal government and Indonesia,” the prime minister said.

The allegation that Malaysia gave away 5,207ha of land to Jakarta first appeared on Tempo, an Indonesian-based media that claimed Sabah agreed to cede the land in return for three villages — Kampung Kabulangalor, Kampung Lepaga, and Kampung Tetagas — in Pulau Sebatik, along the Sabah-Kalimantan border.

Opposition lawmakers last week demanded that the Anwar government explain if the report was true.

Anwar told the House of Representatives this morning that the claim there was some sort of trade-off in the border negotiations was absurd, since any agreement would have been based on international conventions and agreements.

“The determination of boundaries is not based on principles of compensation, reciprocity, or profit and loss, as alleged. Instead, the determination of the boundary between Malaysia and Indonesia is based on conventions and agreements,” he said.

Two areas that were deemed as Outstanding Boundary Problems (OBPs) were Pulau Sebatik and Sungai Sinapad–Sungai Sesai.

Anwar said after prolonged negotiations, a memorandum of understanding was signed that saw Malaysia acquire 0.05 sq km of new land, or the equivalent of 5 hectares (12 acres) for OBP Pulau Sebatik.

For OBP Sungai Sinapad–Sungai Sesai, Malaysia acquired an additional area of 7.8 sq km, equivalent to 780 hectares.

The entire disputed area at OBP Sungai Sinapad–Sungai Sesai totals 5,987 hectares, but Anwar suggested there is a silent understanding that the area is within Indonesia’s administrative territory. 

“If you look at the map, that area has been Indonesia’s right from the beginning, but because the map had not been finalised, we did not agree. However, all this while, since 1915, this has not been contested by any British Government or the Malaysian government,” the Tambun MP said.

As for the three villages, Anwar stated they had always been part of Sabah and Malaysia based on the 1915 treaty itself.

”The border in the OBP area is based on the principles contained — I emphasise once again — in the 1915 agreement, whereby 780 hectares belong to Malaysia. However, that 780 hectares is an additional area for Malaysia. The 5,987 hectares remain under Indonesian ownership, as it has been under by Indonesia since 1915,” he said.

“Consequently, small portions of three villages known as Kampung Kabulangalor, Kampung Lepaga, and Kampung Tetagas will naturally be included within the Malaysian territory in that upper section.”