A PAS Member of Parliament has suggested renaming the South China Sea to “Laut Melayu” or another name to reinforce Malaysia’s territorial claim.
Dato’ Hajjah Mumtaz Binti Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat) put forward the proposal during a Dewan Rakyat session on Tuesday (Oct 22), stressing the importance of adopting a local name, just as other ASEAN countries have done.
Mumtaz highlighted that neighboring nations have already renamed the South China Sea to reflect their sovereignty.
“The Philippines has called it the West Philippine Sea, Indonesia named it the North Natuna Sea, and Vietnam refers to it as the East Sea.”
Malaysia should take similar action, perhaps naming it the Southeast Asia Sea (Laut Asia Tenggara) or the Malay Sea (Laut Melayu) to clearly show that the waters belong to us,” she said.
She emphasized that addressing this issue would be crucial as Malaysia prepares to chair ASEAN in 2025, urging the government to act proactively.
“We must avoid confusion and assert our claim through a name that reflects Malaysia’s rightful territorial waters,” she added.
This proposal comes in the wake of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources releasing a controversial 2023 map in August, asserting sovereignty over large parts of the South China Sea, including areas close to Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak.
Watch the video here:
