BUKIT MERTAJAM: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday (Jan 24) refuted media reports claiming Malaysia had handed over 5,207 hectares of land to Indonesia as compensation for three villages in the Nunukan area near the Sabah-Kalimantan border.
However, Anwar said Malaysia would engage in amicable negotiations on the land compensation issue in the near future.
"The reports are not true. We will negotiate properly, ” he told reporters briefly after attending the Madani Cultural Carnival and Penang People’s Feast 2026 at the Seberang Perai Tengah District Education Office in Permatang Pasir.
Present were the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Steven Sim, who is the Bukit Mertajam Member of Parliament, and Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid.
Media reports recently claimed that three villages in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, have now moved to Malaysia, but the boundary dispute in the Pulau Sebatik area remains unresolved, while Indonesia was reportedly gaining an additional area of 5,207 hectares from Malaysia.
On Friday (Jan 23), Natural Resources and Environment Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said negotiations regarding the marking and measurement of Outstanding Boundary Problem (OBP) areas were carried out harmoniously between the two countries, in accordance with international law and existing boundary agreements, without being based on principles of reciprocity, compensation, or "profit and loss”.
According to him, the finalisation of the land boundary measurement was sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia on February 18, 2025, following more than 45 years of comprehensive and transparent technical negotiations. - Bernama
