De facto, the 28 villages in the sub-district of Lumbis Ogong are under the Indonesian control, but they are still Outstanding Boundary Problem (OBP) in status, provincial legislator Hermanus said here on Sunday.
No one could rule out change in their de facto positions if the government did not address the problem seriously and immediately, the lawmaker from the Nasdem party said.
Hermanus said Indonesia and Malaysia already discussed the problem several times but no agreement has been reached.
Therefore, the possibility is open to bring the case to the international Arbitration Court in The Hague, in the Netherlands, he said.
"If that happened Indonesia has a slim chance of retaining control of the 154,000 hectares of land as the borders are marked only traditionally," he said.
The border between Indonesia and Malaysia in the sub-district of Lumbis Ogong is based on the colonial time agreement between the Netherlands and Britain as held by Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Lumbis, the chairman of the border youths of the regency of Nunukan said the Malaysian government already carried out activities that could be an attempt to win the sympathy of the border people, before bringing the case to the international arbitration court.
The people are given identity card, free medical treatment, assistance in electric lamps, boat engines and saving books with cultural approach, Lumbis said.
The Malaysian government even offered jobs with attractive pay for the people of the Lumbis Ogong sub-district, he said
Currently, Malaysia is building a road along the border line to cost around Rp960 billion, he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
