Red-faced over Limbang
(The Sun) – Malaysia today sought to soothe diplomatic nerves, agreeing with Brunei that claims on Limbang were not discussed during the meeting between Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Datuk Seri Lim Jock Seng had after the Brunei legislative council meeting on Tuesday said the discussion that led to the signing of the Letters of Exchange (LoE) in Bandar Seri Begawan on Monday was on the demarcation of land boundaries on the whole.
"Certain press reports yesterday (Monday) claimed that Brunei has dropped claims over Limbang. In fact, the claim on Limbang was never discussed," he was reported as saying by Brunei’s local daily, Borneo Bulletin, yesterday.
Abdullah was quoted in a Bernama report as saying that the LoE stated that Brunei had dropped the issue and this meant that Limbang is now part of Malaysia.
Limbang, located on the bank of Sungai Limbang between the two halves of Brunei, covers an area of 3,978 sq km. It was annexed by James Brooke, the first Rajah of Sarawak, in 1890 to become the fifth division of Sarawak.
Responding to Lim’s reported statement yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim said the redemarcation of the Malaysia-Brunei border will be carried out to resolve various border issues, including that of Limbang, Bernama reported.
He said the issue of Limbang would be regarded as resolved once the exchange of border agreements signed by both countries was finalised.
He agreed Limbang was not mentioned in recent discussions on land boundaries between both countries but the general view is that when the five existing historical agreements between both sides are signed and implemented in future, all border issues will have been resolved.
"We cannot dispute what they (Brunei) perceive but for us we will acknowledge the exchange of the documents in accordance with the contents, we will respect and we will follow up on the five agreements which have been signed between 1920 and 1939," he said.
"(The word) Limbang was not mentioned in the documents. It was the perception that when the matter of the five agreements are resolved, the issue of Limbang will also be resolved … there have been several interpretations.
"… what is important is that Malaysia-Brunei relations are close and we are not influenced by any political statement made by both sides," he told reporters after officiating at the presentation of cheques to non-governmental organisations for the Palestinian People’s Humanitarian Assistance Programme, here.
Lim had said that a joint press statement was issued after Monday’s meeting which mentioned that the demarcation of the land boundaries between the two countries would be resolved on the basis of five existing historical agreements between the Government of Brunei and the State of Sarawak, and, as appropriate, the watershed principle.
"After that, a working group comprising general surveyors of the two countries will follow with the technical aspect to solve the land border issue," Lim added.
