M'sia cedes 5.2k hectares in territory to Indonesia as exchange - report

Malaysia has ceded 5,207ha of land to Indonesia as compensation in exchange for three villages in the Nunukan area, near the Sabah-Kalimantan border, the republic’s media reported.

“Thousands of hectares of this territory were proposed to support the development of cross-border posts and free-trade zones,” reported Tempo.

The influential news portal reported that the three villages are Kampung Kabulangalor, Kampung Lepaga, and Kampung Tetagas, near the Tawau border, Malaysia.

For comparison, the land area granted is much larger than Putrajaya, which has an area of 4,931ha.

Indonesian National Border Management Agency secretary Makhruzi Rahman said this followed a territorial settlement agreement in which the border line was shifted.

Tempo reported that in a memorandum signed on Feb 18, 2025, about 127ha of Sebatik Island territory became Indonesian, while Malaysia acquired 4.9ha.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Deputy Agriculture and Land Agency Minister Ossy Dermawan confirmed that the border change resulted in three villages in Nunukan shifting to Malaysian administrative territory.

He said that although the agreement gave 4.9ha of Indonesian territory to Malaysia, the actual area lost was 6.1ha, given that the Indonesian government needs to establish a buffer zone of 2.4ha.

Malaysiakini is seeking verification from the Foreign Ministry following the report.

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