The Betrayal of Blocks L and M — A Historic Reminder of Why Sabah Must Never Be Left Out Again

By Daniel John Jambun, 6-7-2025

WE wish to remind the public of a critical and shameful moment in our nation’s history — the surrender of oil-rich Blocks L and M to Brunei in 2009 — which was done without the knowledge, consent, or involvement of the Sabah State Government.

This decision, signed by then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi just days before leaving office, has had long-term implications for Sabah’s economic sovereignty, legal rights, and dignity as a founding partner of Malaysia.

Let us be clear: Blocks L and M lie off the coast of Sabah, and any claim or development in that area must involve the Sabah Government as a full and equal stakeholder. But in 2009, the Federal Government unilaterally relinquished Malaysia’s claim over those blocks — handing sovereignty to Brunei in exchange for a vague commercial arrangement, and possibly in return for Brunei’s silence on the Limbang dispute in Sarawak.

This move was:

Executed without consulting Sabah’s leaders or the State Legislative Assembly;

Kept secret from Parliament and the public until after the signing;

Resulted in Sabah losing sovereign control and potential oil revenue from its continental shelf;

Justified as a diplomatic success, when in truth it was a political betrayal.

The deal allowed Malaysia to “participate commercially” in Brunei's petroleum activities — but only as a junior profit-sharing partner, with no sovereign rights over the resource area. It was a loss of ownership, not a victory of cooperation.

Even more troubling, it is widely believed the deal was tied to resolving Brunei’s claims over Limbang — a separate dispute in Sarawak, not Sabah. If that is true, then Sabah’s waters and oil wealth were used as bargaining chips to benefit another state, without Sabah’s consent.

This episode is a stark warning. It shows how, when Sabah is excluded from federal decision-making:

We lose our rights.

We lose our revenue.

We lose our voice.

Today, as new boundary treaties and joint development agreements emerge — including the recent Sulawesi Sea Treaty and the ongoing Ambalat negotiations — Sabah must never again be sidelined.

We therefore reaffirm the following demands:

1. No decision involving Sabah’s territorial waters or offshore resources shall be made without formal, political-level representation from the Sabah Government.

2. All treaties affecting Sabah must be publicly disclosed and ratified through proper constitutional processes.

3. A review of the 2009 L&M surrender must be initiated, including a legal and historical audit of whether Sabah’s rights were breached under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

4. The Federal Government must stop treating Sabah’s land and sea as negotiable territory. We are not a colony. We are a founding partner.

The betrayal of Blocks L and M must never be forgotten — and must never be repeated.

Daniel John Jambun

President, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation(BoPiMaFo)

&

Change Advocate Movement Sabah (CAMOS)#~Borneo Herald™