On June 19, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad made a startling remark at an event, claiming that Malaysia has sovereignty over Singapore and indonesia's Riau Islands and should claim that these places should be returned to Malaysia. As soon as these words came out, a stone stirred up a thousand layers of waves.
Since then, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry has issued a statement saying that Mahathir's remarks have no legal basis and that he should not make unfounded remarks that may affect the friendship between India and Malaysia. Singapore scholars have pointed out that Mahathir's words clearly have political purposes behind them, but they are not helpful to Singapore-Malaysia relations.
Screenshot of Mahathir's speech on June 19
On the evening of June 19, Mahathir participated in an event in Kuala Lumpur called "I Am Malay: Start to Survive" and gave a speech, during which he talked about Singapore and the Riau Islands in Indonesia, according to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao.
"There is pressure to return Sipadan to Indonesia," Mahathir said. We must remember that we value these islands more than those that belong to us in themselves, and more so than the island of Singapore, which originally belonged to the state of Johor (one of the thirteen states of Malaysia). ”
Mahathir continued: "Johor should claim Singapore (sovereignty) and bring Singapore back to Johor and Malaysia. He also said malaysia had worked hard to claim (with Indonesia) for sovereignty over The Islands of Simadan and Ligitan and should now claim the return of Singapore and the Riau Islands to Malaysia.
"We (the Malays) should learn from history, think hard and strive to be strong. We have lost too much land. We lost four provinces in the southern Gulf of Thailand, the Riau Islands, Singapore Island, and Aeridosa White, the size of a table. Mahathir believed that this place had historically been "the land of the Malays."
According to Indonesian media "Tempo" reported on June 22 local time, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah issued a statement on the same day, saying that he regretted Mahathir's statement that "Riau is part of the Malaysian state of Johor". The statement noted that the Riau Islands belong to Indonesia, which is determined in accordance with applicable international law.
Screenshot of the Indonesian media "Tempo" report
"Indonesia believes that Mahathir's remarks have no legal basis." Fezaza said in a statement that the Riau Islands will always be Indonesia's territory, and at a time when the world is facing many challenges, Mahathir, as a veteran politician, should not make such baseless remarks that may damage the friendship between India and Malaysia.
In Singapore, Mahathir's remarks have also received attention. Chen Lili, a visiting professor at the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore, told Lianhe Zaobao that Mahathir's speech did not conform to historical and legal facts and was clearly motivated by political intent. "He says this because it pleases voters... But for relations between Singapore and Malaysia, it has not helped. ”
Screenshot of the Lianhe Zaobao report
According to lianhe Zaobao, the Riau Islands are located in the sea between Sumatra, Johor, Singapore and Kalimantan and consist of about 1800 islands. The largest islands are Batam and Bintan. The Johor–Riau dynasty controlled Johor, Singapore, the Riau Islands and parts of southeastern Sumatra from 1511 to 1824.
Geo map of the Riau Islands Screenshot from Google Maps
The report also said that after the Pacific War in the last century, many countries in Southeast Asia have become independent countries. Today, however, there are still politicians who occasionally touch on issues, with statements that intentionally or unintentionally refer to Singapore's independence. Abdul Somad, a radical Indonesian missionary who was recently denied entry by the Singapore government, declared that "Singapore is a Malay land closely related to the Riau Islands in Indonesia."
In response to this, Hu Yishan, a scholar who has long observed the political dynamics of Singapore and Malaysia, a senior researcher at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and the chief adviser of the Malaysian Pacific Research Center, said in an interview that in Malaysia, some Malays do believe that Singapore is originally "Malay land", which Mahathir reflected in his speech.
However, Hu Yishan also believes that Mahathir's remarks are more to satirize the Sultan of Johor and the Malaysian government, who have always wanted to overturn the case for Branca, not necessarily because of his ambitions for Singapore's territory.
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