KUALA LUMPUR: KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has told Dewan Rakyat that the country's sovereignty will continue to be protected following the signing of instruments with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) related to the maritime borders recently.
He said the question of 'being compromised' from the treaties did not arise as it only involved the ones agreed by both parties and those under dispute, such as the Pulau Sebatik in Sabah.
He added that further discussion would be held on it.
"Jokowi represents the Indonesian people, and I represent the Malaysians. The question of sovereignty will not be compromised or sacrificed.
"During negotiations, we agreed to move ahead and solve the ones both countries agreed. The ones we could not agree on, we put on hold. But it should not affect the bilateral relations.
"Our ultimate position is that not an inch of our country's land will be sacrificed," he said during Prime Minister's question-and-answer session time today.
He was answering a supplementary question by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (PN-Pagoh) on whether the government could ensure that the claims by Malaysia would not be compromised.
Earlier, Anwar was answering a question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) on the government's assurance that the newly signed border settlement agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia would not affect sovereign rights and harm the country, especially the negative impact on maritime economic activities in the long run.
Anwar said Malaysia signed two treaties involving the matter - Straits of Melaka Treaty and Laut Sulawesi Treaty.
He said that the two treaties were signed based on the choice of the best border points that could be reached jointly and followed international laws, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), and also precedent cases that international courts and international tribunals had decided.
He said the treaties would provide clarity in terms of sovereignty and jurisdiction that would allow both countries to carry out law enforcement activities in their respective maritime areas more effectively, including cross-border crime prevention activities such as goods smuggling and human trafficking.
"Economic and development activities such as fishing, exploration and exploitation of marine resources can also be done in a more orderly and more secure manner with the maritime borders that have been finalised.
"The signing of these treaties is expected to further increase the confidence for both parties to continue negotiating maritime demarcation restrictions that have not been resolved for mutual benefit," he said.
Takiyuddin argued that the government signed the treaties without considering the maritime experts' views.
Anwar denied such a view.
He said the issue was closely viewed by multiple agencies, including the Maritime Affairs Department from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), the Survey and Mapping Department of Malaysia, and the National Hydrographic Centre.
"Who are the experts? Name them. Do not simply mention," the prime minister said.
Malaysia and Indonesia discussed a range of bilateral issues and later witnessed the signing of six instruments.