Sarawak deploys ships to monitors its sea area

KUCHING: Three Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency vessels have been deployed to monitor and assess the situation in the waters of Tanjung Datu, Lundu, according to the Sarawak Region Maritime Enforcement chief, First Admiral Ismaili Bujang Pit.

However, he said right now, they could not issue any statement concerning the process and procedures involved in the operation as it was under the National Security Council’s jurisdiction.

“The three vessels are KM Bijak, KM Semilang and KM Siagut with the strength of 55 officers and enforcement staff,” he said yesterday.

Ismaili said this when asked to comment about the security operation in the region after Indonesia made an allegation that Malaysia had been intruding into Indonesian maritime territory in Tanjung Datu.

The Indonesian media had alleged that Malaysia was building a lighthouse on a land spanning 1,400 hectares in Pulau Tanjung Datuk in West Kalimantan.

But yesterday Deputy Home Affairs Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar reportedly denied Indonesian media reports that Malaysia was tresspassing on their land.

He said Indonesia’s allegations were “baseless” .

“I am not sure if the island mentioned (by Indonesian media) exist because our records only show Tanjung Datu.

“Also this is an old issue dating back a few years ago. “We checked with the Indonesian army.

“The allegation was baseless because the border between Malaysia and Indonesia was signed in 1987.

“You can move the physical stone markers, but you cannot move the border,” he said.

Wan Junaidi also claimed that the non-issue was raised by Indonesian politicians as “a diversion for international politics to put their names on the news.”

-Bernama