KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia's loss of Batu Puteh to Singapore is a wake up call for Sabah not to leave territorial boundary issues solely to the federal government, says Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee.
The former chief minister said that state government leaders and officials had the inherent Constitutional duty to ensure that the federal government is fully committed to protecting Sabah's territorial boundaries.
"There should be no compromise in the state's interests as a sacrifice in exchange for other national interests or in its international relations," Yong, who is Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president, said on Friday (Dec 6).
"The issue of the loss of Batu Puteh to Singapore, as reported by the Royal Commission of Inquiry, proves that Sabah leaders and officials must discard the old attitude of leaving everything to the federal government whenever it comes to international or territorial matters or security," he said.
He said Sabah also must make sure that federal officials were fully familiar and up to date with all the relevant facts and perspectives affecting Sabah.
"As a reminder, one serious federal flaw that Sabah had to endure was the fiasco of the Sulu claim at the international arbitration court.
"Although the RM65bil arbitration award by a Paris Court has now been set aside, the initial arbitration award had been a boost to give false hope to the Sulu claimants," he said in a statement.
Yong also said that many in Sabah were not aware of the lost Amboyna Cay in the South China Sea in the late 1970s.
"The federal government had, through neglect, allowed Sabah to lose the island of Amboyna Cay, which is within the territorial continental shelf of Sabah.
"Amboyna Cay, an inhabitable island, is now occupied by Vietnam," he said.
The book “Doctor In The House’ published in 2011 by former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, described how the then prime minister had changed his mind about claiming Amboyna Cay as such a claim might provoke confrontation with other countries.
Dr Mahathir, was the deputy prime minister at the time.
Yong said in his book, Dr Mahathir also described how Malaysia (Sabah) nearly lost Layang -Layang Island (Swallow Reef) because the then prime minister had not wanted to claim Layang-Layang for fear of confrontation with Vietnam.
Dr. Mahathir had said, correctly, that both Amboyna Cay and Layang-Layang are within the Continental Shelf of Sabah (Malaysia).
In the memoir, Dr. Mahathir described how he put Malaysian assets on Layang–Layang (Swallow Reef) once he became prime minister.
"In other words, Sabah nearly lost Layang-Layang which today is a tourist resort accessible from Kota Kinabalu and Labuan," he added.
"None of the background and facts of how Sabah lost a precious island known as Amboyna Cay would have been known if Dr Mahathir had not penned his memoirs," Yong said.
"As for other controversial maritime matters involving the areas known as Blocks L&M bordering Brunei, it would only be a matter of time that people will get to know how and what happened to the loss of three million acres of maritime territory in 2010," he said.
He said maritime issues at Ambalat in Tawau remain unclear to the state following 2023 bilateral discussions between Malaysia and Indonesia.
"It is the duty of the Sabah government to protect Sabah’s territorial rights and uphold the Federal Constitution which stipulates that the territory of Malaysia comprise the territory of the states of Malaysia (Article 1).
"Sabah should have a front row seat at any international discussions affecting Sabah's territorial interests," he added.
