Sabah remains inseparable part of Malaysia, says Saifuddin

 The former foreign minister says Malaysia will defend the state's sovereignty while maintaining good relations with the Philippines and Asean partners.

Former foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah said any suggestion that Sabah belongs to the Philippines is ‘baseless, flawed, and completely dead in the water’.

PETALING JAYA:

Former foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah has rejected a former Filipino diplomat’s claim over Sabah, saying the suggestion that the state belongs to the Philippines is “baseless, flawed, and completely dead in the water”.

The Indera Mahkota MP said Sabah had been recognised by the United Nations and the international community as part of Malaysia since the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.

He also said the people of Sabah had exercised their right to self-determination through the Cobbold Commission process, which led to the formation of the federation.

“Malaysia’s position has always been clear and unequivocal: Malaysia does not recognise any foreign claim over Sabah,” he said.

He was responding to comments by former Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary Erlinda Fadera-Basilio in a report in The Philippine Star today titled “Sabah belongs to the Philippines”.

In the report, Fadera-Basilio claimed that the Philippines’s historical claim over Sabah represents a legitimate exercise of its international legal rights.

Saifuddin stressed that while Malaysia would continue to pursue good neighbourly relations and constructive engagement within Asean, this would not come at the expense of the country’s sovereignty.

“Sabah is, and will always remain, an inseparable part of Malaysia,” he said. - FMT