KOTA KINABALU: Sabah leaders and officials should not leave everything to the federal government whenever it comes to international or territorial matters.
Commenting on the Royal Commission Inquiry (RCI) on Batu Puteh, former chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the report was proof that the Sabah government had an inherent and constitutional duty to Sabah.
According to the report, the RCI recommended that criminal investigations be initiated against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The proposal follows Malaysia's loss of Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore, where it is known as Pedra Blanca, after the cabinet led by Dr Mahathir in 2018 withdrew its application to annul the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"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 comprises the territories of the states of Malaysia (Article 1).
"Sabah should have a front row seat at any international discussion affecting Sabah's territorial interests," said the Sabah Progressive Party president.
He added that the state had to make sure that the federal government was fully committed to protecting and upholding Sabah's interests and not compromising Sabah's interests as a sacrifice in exchange for other national interests or international relations.
Yong, who is a nominated assemblyman, said one serious federal flaw that Sabah had to endure was the fiasco of the Sulu claim at an international arbitration.
He said although the RM65 billion arbitration award had now been set aside, the initial arbitration award had been a boost to the false hopes of the Sulu claimants.
He also added that in the late 1970s, the federal government had, by neglect, made Sabah 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.
"The book 'Doctor in the House', which was published in 2011 by Dr Mahathir, described how he had changed his mind about claiming Amboyna Cay as it (a claim on Amboyna Cay) might lead to confrontation with other countries.
"Dr Mahathir was the deputy prime minister at the time. He had 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 said, correctly, that both Amboyna Cay and Layang-Layang are within the Continental Shelf of Sabah (Malaysia)."
Yong also said in Dr Mahathir's memoir, the latter had said how he put Malaysian assets on Layang–Layang 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.
"As for other controversial maritime matters such as 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.
"The other maritime area of interest, known as Ambalat at Tawau, what was the gist of the 2023 bilateral agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia?
"Was the Sabah government fully involved in bilateral discussions between Malaysia and Indonesia to ensure that Sabah's territorial security and interests are fully secured?"