There could be a slight alteration to the Malaysian map if the position of the peninsula, which shifted several centimetres after the 9.0 magnitude subterranean earthquake struck the region on Dec 26, remains where it is.

The former deputy director-general of the Survey Department's Geodesic Section, Rahim Mohamad Saleh, said the department was monitoring whether the earth movement would stabilise.

"Following the earthquake, the peninsula shifted 18 centimetres to the northwest and, since the end of January, the position has been 16.5 centimetres out of its original position," he told Bernama today.

Rahim, who is now the deputy director-general of the Malaysian Centre for Geospatial Data Infrastructure, said another two or three months were needed to determine whether there would be any further movements.

"The signs indicate the peninsula will remain out between 16 and 17 centimetres to the northwest," he added.

Changes necessary

Following the massive quake, several islands and cities experienced movements in their positions, including Sumatra and Bangkok.

"We hoped the land mass would go back to its original position...we thought it was elastic and moving slowly," said Rahim.

"Monitoring through MASS (Malaysian Active GPS System - Permanent Station) found there is still movement. Only when it is stable can we determine if new mapping is necessary," he added.

According to him, the movement was more pronounced in Perlis, Kedah and Penang compared to Melaka and Johor.

Although there was movement, he said it did not affect Malaysia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), international borders or maps in use.

However, he did not rule out changes to the Malaysian map if the new position remained.

"In my view, reforms to the map have to be made as the points would have run," he added.