The Dewan Rakyat today passed the Territorial Sea Bill 2012, which was enacted to protect the integrity of the Malaysia’s territorial waters due to the cancellation of the Proclamation of

Emergency 1969, last December.

 

With the passage of the Bill, the territorial sea limit of Malaysia will be 12 nautical miles for all purposes.

 

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz when winding up the Bill, said the drafting of the Bill was not because of the Batu Puteh case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the tussle over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

    

He said the Territorial Sea Bill 2012 had to be drafted as there were no other federal laws that specify the the territorial sea limit of Malaysia other than the Ordinance No. 7 of the 1969 proclamation.

 

Commenting on the Batu Puteh case, Nazri, who was replying to a question from Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian), said a decision to refer the case again to the ICJ would only be made if there was new evidence which allowed the results to be reviewed.

    

On May 23, 2009, following a dispute between Malaysia and Singapore on three marine formations, the ICJ ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Batu Puteh and Terumbu but Karang Tengah belonged to Malaysia.

- Bernama