Ceding of blocks L and M to Brunei unconstitutional

Kota Kinabalu, May 3, 2010: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president, Datuk Yong Teck Lee, today said that the reported ceding of 3 million acres of Sabah's maritime territory (contained in Blocks L and M) by the Federal Government to Negara Brunei in March 2009 is unconstitutional because such an act of ceding territory of a State (of Sabah) in the federation of Malaysia requires the consent of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly and the Conference of Rulers.

"This is stipulated in Article 2 of the Malaysian Constitution.

"The only one time that such consent under Article 2 was given was on 8 March 1984 when the Federal Territory of Labuan Enactment 1984 was passed in the State Legislative Assembly.

"It was one of the major acts of the then State government that caused its own downfall the following year.

"The territory of Malaysia consists of the territories of all the states of Malaysia . It was only when Sabah (then North Borneo) together with Sarawak , Singapore and Malaya formed Malaysia in 1963, that the Malaysia territorial map was enlarged to include the Borneo states and their territories that came with historical right.

"This territory included the Sipadan and Ligitan islands and the seas now known as Block L and M in the Petronas offshore plans.

"In the case of the territorial dispute with Indonesia over the Sipadan and Ligitan islands in the 1990s, the case was referred to the International Court of Justice ( World Court ) that ruled in favour of Malaysia .

"Ex-Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed had disclosed that Malaysia's right to Block L and M is based on historical right and that the loss of these blocks has made Malaysia lost RM 320 billion in oil in an area the combined size of the states of Perlis, Penang , Melaka and Selangor combined.

The questions that Malaysians in Sabah want answered are:

1. Did the Sabah Chief Minister and his State Cabinet know about this surrendering of its maritime territory by the then Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?

2. What is the State Government going to do about this loss of territory and potential oil royalties? Based on the present 5%, the royalties are worth RM 16 billion.

3. Did the Federal Ministers from Sabah know? What was their stand?

4. Has treason been committed by the then Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues for surrendering national territory without the necessary approvals of Parliament, State Legislative Assembly and the Conference of Rulers?

5. Why was there haste in surrendering the territory just weeks before a change of Prime Minister in March 2009?

6. Are the boundaries of Blocks L and M clearly demarcated by lines joining geographical co-ordinates in a certified map at the National Mapping Malaysia and the Sabah Department of Lands and Survey?

SAPP calls on the BN State government to:

1. Make public the terms and conditions of the surrender of Blocks L and M,

2. Publish the map of Sabah that includes its maritime territory,

3. Claim compensation from the federal government for the loss of Sabah's maritime territory, shipping rights, fisheries and other resources in the area,

4. Claim from the federal government compensation of RM16 billion being the loss of the 5% petroleum royalties (from the RM 320 billion in oil revenues),

5. Ensure that any future treaties and international agreements affecting Sabah shall require the explicit and official consent of the State government. We must not allow a precedent for the federal government to sell of chunks of Sabah to foreign countries.

"If the Sabah State Government is unable, unwilling or afraid to take up these responsibilities, then it should promptly dissolve the Sabah State Legislative Assembly so that fresh elections can be called to elect a new State government that can protect the rights and interests of Sabah," said Yong.