Iman said the land in question remained a “grey area”, and discussions to determine its status have yet to be finalised, Berita Harian reported.

“I want to stress that the area is not under Indonesia’s sovereignty. Its status is still a grey area while discussions are ongoing at the highest level.

“The news report from Indonesia is not true,” he was quoted as saying.

Iman also said he needed to find out whether the report was fake or there were mistakes in the article. “Whatever it is, it is not true,” he said.

Indonesian news agency Antara quoted presidential chief of staff Muhammad Qodari as saying the republic’s territory had expanded by 127.3ha on Pulau Sebatik, North Kalimantan, following the completion of land boundary delimitation with Malaysia.

Muhammad reportedly said the land, previously under Malaysia, now legally belonged to Indonesia, while about 4.9ha along Indonesia’s former border had become part of Malaysia.

International media previously reported that three villages in the Nunukan Regency of North Kalimantan were allegedly included in Malaysian territory following a border realignment.

The villages – Kampung Kabungalor, Kampung Lipaga, and Kampung Tetagas – are located near the Tawau border in Sabah.

Yesterday, Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor also denied that the 127.3ha area on Pulau Sebatik had been handed over to Indonesia.