The question of the whether Sabah was part of Malaysia should not have arisen at all as the matter was determined legally some 135 years ago.

In saying this, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Sabah legally belonged to Malaysia as far back as 1878 more so after the Cobbold Commission said that two thirds of the yesteryear Sabahans wanted Sabah to be a part of Malaysia.

“The commission’s finding has been declared by the United Nations.

“Sabah is a part of Malaysia forever, and nobody from inside or outside the country can question this. We will defend this principle and truth with all the strength that we have,” he said at a press conference in Felda Sahabat 16 here.

Najib is currently in Sabah to see the running of the "Ops Daulat" operation against the armed intruders there.