KOTA KINABALU, July 1 — Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan has expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent statement in Indonesia, agreeing to jointly develop the disputed Ambalat maritime region near Sabah’s maritime borders.
Kitingan, who is also Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president, said that it would be an insult if the announcement was made without prior consultation with the state government.
“I am disappointed to know this is happening, too. Ambalat has always been considered part of Sabah’s territorial waters.
“If this decision was truly made without consulting Sabah, then it is not good. It’s another way of bypassing Sabah’s rights. And we need an explanation,” he said.
Kitingan said he would be seeking clarification formally and will consider bringing the matter up in Parliament.
“We are on our way toward finding out, from now until next month. Let’s see what explanation is given first,” he said.
It was reported that Anwar said Malaysia and Indonesia should go ahead to jointly develop the disputed oil-rich Ambalat area off the east coast of Sabah without waiting to solve legal and regulatory obstacles.
“If we wait for everything to be finalised, it could take decades,” he was quoted saying after talks with Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto.
Malaysia and Indonesia have overlapping territorial claims on the 15,000 sq km Ambalat sea block, which is believed to hold significant crude oil reserves.
In 2023, deputy foreign affairs minister Mohamad Alamin said discussions about the Sulawesi Sea Treaty signed by Malaysia and Indonesia in June 2023 would not be held publicly to safeguard the sensitivity of the matter.
Sabah has been fighting hard to regain the continental shelf and territorial maritime area, one of the issues to be discussed as part of the state’s rights in the Malaysian Agreement 1963.
Previously, Kitingan had said that under the Land Ordinance (Sabah Cap.68), submerged land, including the seabed up to the continental shelf, falls under Sabah’s jurisdiction. Land is a state matter under the State List in the 9th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which includes land tenure, permits, and licences for mining activities.
Therefore, he said Sabah’s rights to manage and utilise its continental shelf, including the ownership and management of oil and gas resources, should be indisputable.
In August 2023, chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had said that Sabah remains firm in rejecting Indonesia’s claim over the sovereignty of the Ambalat area in the Sulawesi Sea.
He said the state government will continue to defend Ambalat, which is known to be rich in oil and gas resources, as part of Sabah and Malaysia’s territory.
