M'sia will not compromise on country's rights, sovereignty - 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. - BERNAMA