THE Philippines’s claim on Sabah as its territory is baseless and irrelevant, Deputy Foreign Minister Kamarudin Jaafar told the Dewan Rakyat today.

“The government of Malaysia has clearly and consistently stated its stance on the issue. Malaysia will never ever entertain or acknowledge any foreign claim over Sabah,” said the Bandar Tun Razak MP.

“The issue of the Philippines’ claim over Sabah is not only baseless but irrelevant,” he said, adding it was an old issue
that had dragged on for 57 years.

He was responding to a question by Azizah Mohd Dun (Beaufort-Bersatu) on the government’s position on the issue.

Citing the Cobbold Commission of 1962, Kamarudin said the people of Sabah themselves had voted to stay in Malaysia.

“The report of the Cobbold Commission was presented to the United Nations on August 1, 1962 which confirmed that two-thirds of Sabahans haf chosen to join Malaysia,” he said.

As such, Sabah became a part of Malaysia on September 16,1963.

He said the ministry has always voiced a rebuttal whenever the issue of the Philippines’ claim over Sabah arose.

Azizah also posed a supplementary question on what action the the government would take to end the issue.

Kamarudin said the Perikatan Nasional government was striving to fulfil the provisions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

On August 20, the Philippines’ House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved a bill seeking to amend a map of the country to include Sabah. The map is to be featured on the Philippine passport.

Cagayan de Oro City representative Rufus Rodriguez was quoted as saying the Philippines “aims to emphasise and insist on our victory on the West Philippine Sea over China in the International Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, and our legal and historical rights over Sabah”. – November 12, 2020.