Hamzah presses for transparency over land purportedly ceded to Indonesia

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin has pressed Putrajaya to address concerns about its purported move to cede 5,207ha of land to Indonesia as compensation for three villages in the Nunukan area.

Addressing a press conference in Parliament today, Hamzah (above, centre) emphasised that the government, especially Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, must uphold the principle of transparency in matters involving national sovereignty.

“I’ve heard the prime minister himself say that he will not allow even an inch of Malaysian land to be given to any country. Wow, impressive.

“(Such statements) sound good, but when we look at this (agreement with Indonesia), it’s not just an inch, prime minister - it’s a massive amount of land. Please explain this matter - what actually happened?” the Bersatu deputy president pressed.

Last week, Indonesian media reported that Malaysia had ceded over thousands of hectares of its land in exchange for three villages - Kampung Kabulangalor, Kampung Lepaga, and Kampung Tetagas - in Pulau Sebatik, along the Sabah-Kalimantan border.

For comparison, the land area granted is much larger than Putrajaya, which has an area of 4,931ha.

Indonesian National Border Management Agency secretary Makhruzi Rahman said this followed a territorial settlement agreement in which the border line was shifted.

Following the cabinet’s instruction for the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry to issue a comprehensive statement on the matter, minister Arthur Joseph Kurup disputed reports claiming that Malaysia’s move to hand over its land was a form of “compensation” for the three villages.

His statement, however, did not address the extent of the territorial changes following the border settlement.

‘Discuss in Parliament first’

When questioned by reporters, Anwar similarly said that media reports on the matter are “not true”, briefly adding that Malaysia will engage in amicable negotiations on the issue soon.

Evidently dissatisfied with the statements from government officials, Hamzah today stressed that such agreements should be discussed in Parliament first before final decisions are made.

Referencing the dispute over the Malaysia-United States Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, the Larut MP said that if the government prefers not to raise such matters in the lower house, a committee-level discussion would be appreciated.

“You (Anwar) are the one who decided that this Parliament must be a great one where everything is brought to committees - we agree.

“If we feel that (an agreement) is appropriate, we will agree. If we feel that it is not suitable, we will reject it. This is how we provide checks and balances,” Hamzah added.

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