KOTA KINABALU — Sabahans are calling on the federal government to provide verification of facts and truth instead of producing mere statements regarding the controversial Ambalat block issue, said Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president, Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.
Yong said people’s representatives from Sabah have the right to urge for clarifications from the Foreign Ministry about the Sulawesi Sea Treaty signed between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo during the latter’s visit to Malaysia last June.
His statement came after Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said Wisma Putra was willing to explain the issue to clear the air.
“I welcome the explanation. In the same way that the Law Minister (Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said) had briefed the Sabah assembly members on the Sulu claim arbitration case, Wisma Putra should also urgently brief the Sabah assembly members on the Sulawesi Sea and Ambalat issue,” Yong said in a statement, yesterday.
The issue became a hot topic in Sabah started after Tungku assemblyman Assaffal P. Alian recently claimed that the federal government had handed over the Ambalat block in Sulawesi to Indonesia.
Yong who is former Sabah chief minister and now nominated assemblyman said he hopes the federal government would understand why Sabahans are skeptical over statements regarding Ambalat.
Among the reasons, he said, the L and M blocks – a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Brunei saw two million acres of maritime territory “lost” to Brunei in 2010.
At the time, Malaysian media reported that the resolution of the issue of L and M was in exchange for Brunei settling the “Limbang Question” (in Sarawak) but this assertion was later denied by Brunei.
“Sabahans now want verification of facts and truth instead of simply accepting whatever official statements coming from the government.
“Of relevance, is the maritime territory of Malaysia in the aftermath of Malaysia’s victory at the International Court of Justice (World Court) over the Pulau Ligitan/Sipadan case in 2002?
“Has the full force of the ICJ judgment been respected and honoured in this Sulawesi Sea Treaty between Malaysia and Indonesia?” he questioned.
The Ambalat block is a sea block in the Celebes Sea located between North Kalimantan and Sabah. It has been a subject of territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia since 1979.
Mohamad recently claimed that Ambalat was not mentioned when the Sulawesi Sea Treaty was signed in June, as it is the treaty does not involve any place over 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone. — August 17, 2023.