Yong seeks more clarification on deal

Yong briefing those present

Sandakan: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) candidate Datuk Yong Teck lee claims the people are not fully convinced over the explanations on the "loss" of oil blocks L and M bordering Brunei.

In this regard, he said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman should explain if it is true that the loss is linked to a proposed commercial project politically linked to Umno.

He said the people have the right to know whether the "deal" involving three million acres of the maritime territory has something to do with the visit of the Sultan of Brunei to Sabah from Feb 3 to 5, 2009, as it happened the month before the Exchange of Letters were held in Brunei on March 16.

"It was widely believed by Sandakan people at the time that a politically-linked commercial project had just been reclaimed along the coast and was waiting for the visit of the Sultan," he claimed.

Speaking after the event which was supposed to be a public debate between SAPP and the BN led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at the Hakka Hall, Sunday, Yong said the questions came about following Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman response when SAPP's MP Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui queried the matter.

In his answer in Parliament in June, Anifah disclosed that the solution of the maritime boundary dispute with Brunei was agreed in principle to be settled at the meeting between the then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawi and Brunei Sultan in Johor on Aug 26, 2008.

Yong said Anifah quoted the United Convention of Law of the Sea 1982 on continent shelf to justify Malaysia's loss of Blocks L and M, but Yong said nowhere in the Convention was it stated that one coastal nation must surrender its sovereign rights to another nation.

Instead, Article 76 of UNCLOS 1982 provided for a joint-commission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf fo the Commission to make recommendations on the outer limits of their continental shelf.

"It is this UN Commission which will decide the maritime territory of member states based on data, charts and other relevant technical information submitted by the countries concerned," he said.
According to Yong, there is a precedent when Malaysia made a joint submission with Vietnam to the UN Commission on August 27, 2009 (a different issue but similar characteristic).

"Why was this not done with our neighbour Brunei?" he asked.

Blocks L and M now known as CA1 and CA2 really belonged to Malaysia because it was part of the maritime territory for Sabah, he said, adding if it was not then how could Petronas give the exploration rights to a US company prior to this.