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Malaysian PM Anwar rebuts claims he ignored expert advice in sea border deal with Indonesia
- Anwar says he consulted multiple government experts about the deal, calls on the opposition to spell out their allegations and defer from making sweeping statements
- Former PM Muhyiddin Yassin had accused Anwar of failing to heed warnings before signing the deal to end the border row during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit last week
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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday rebutted claims by his predecessor that he ignored expert advice and surrendered the country’s maritime sovereignty in an agreement to end an 18-year-old border dispute with Indonesia.
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The dispute centred around the delimitation of the nations’ territorial seas in parts of the Strait of Malacca and the Sulawesi Sea.
Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who helmed Malaysia for 18 months from 2020, accused Anwar of failing to heed warnings before signing the deal to end the row during a trip by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Malaysia last week.
“Malaysian maritime experts told the prime minister don’t sign,” Muhyiddin said at a political rally on Sunday in Seremban, claiming that it involved Malaysia’s territorial claims in Johor and Sabah.
“But he [Anwar] went ahead and signed it.”
Responding in parliament on Tuesday, a combative Anwar urged the opposition to spell out their allegations and defer from making sweeping statements.
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