IS it true that Putrajaya ceded 5,207 hectares of land to Indonesia in exchange for three villages in the Nunkan area along the Sabah-Kalimantan border?
The transfer of Sabah territory bigger than the size of Putrajaya, if it is true, has not been conveyed to the public in Malaysia by way of the Parliament. However, Indonesia’s National Border Management Agency had informed that the transfer had taken place.
If this is true then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has to explain whether the deal with Indonesia has been struck or not.
Most importantly, land in Sabah is matter of the region. Putrajaya cannot transfer land in the regions of Sabah and Sarawak without the consent of their respective state assemblies.
In this case, land transfers in Sabah to resolve border disputes cannot be unilaterally done by Putrajaya without the consent of its state assembly.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin called for transparency on the part of the federal government to explain whether it had transferred a huge chunk of territory along the border of Sabah and Kalimantan to Indonesia.
Transparency is not a sufficient condition because constitutionally the federal government can surrender land in Sabah without the consent of its state assembly. Land comes under the jurisdiction of the region of Sabah.
Clearly, if the transfer of the land had taken place according the Indonesian sources, then such a transfer is not only illegal but ultra vires the federal constitution.
Anwar has sought to give the impression that such a transfer had not taken place as Malaysia is still engaged in resolving border disputes with Indonesia. As such, is Anwar saying that the officials of the Indonesian National Border Management Agency are not telling the truth?
Anwar needs to go beyond the requirements of transparency by affirming the land rights of Sabah cannot be trampled upon by usurping the rights of the region protected by the Constitution.
Giving up land in the interests of resolving border disputes between Malaysia and Indonesia in the region of Sabah cannot be defended if such transfers are not approved by the state assembly.
Sovereignty is a sacrosanct concept that cannot be traded willy nilly by the federal government at the expense of the fundamental rights of those in Sabah.
It is just like how sovereignty was eroded when Malaysia signed a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States last October.
It is only now that Anwar is realising that the protection of the sovereignty of the country needs more than a verbal assurance from the US under its mercurial president Donald Trump.
Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council chairman.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.