M’sia must assert sovereignty over 236 islands without names: Kurup

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must assert its sovereignty over 236 out of 642 islands in the country that have no names, said Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup.

He said immediate action must be taken to name them before other countries make territorial claims over them.

“What is worrying is that most of the islands without names are in Sabah,” he said when opening the International Seminar of Geographical Names and the 18th United Nations Group of Experts Session on Geographical Names for Southeast Asia and Southwest Pacific here Monday.

He said the islands must be named and gazetted to make territorial claims over them by other countries difficult.

"This is important as a country can stake a claim on territorial sea to a maximum of 200 nautical miles from the islands, including economic sources in the surrounding areas," he said.

Kurup urged the state government and agencies under his ministry to be more pro-active in identifying the islands and other geographical features belonging to the country.

"Towards this end, efforts must be made to select the most suitable names for the islands and geographical features by taking into account the names used by people in the surrounding areas for a long time, if there are any," he added.

He said according to the Department of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia has 878 islands and 510 geographical features such as offshore rocks, shoals, reefs, ridges, patches and grooves. - Bernama