PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin (pic) has condemned Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's comment about Malaysia's efforts to review the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that awarded Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore.
In a statement on Monday (Nov 20), Khairy said Lee's comment was an irresponsible allegation that could hurt the good relationship between Malaysia and Singapore.
Speaking at the PAP Awards and Convention on Sunday (Nov 19), Lee had questioned Malaysia's motive in requesting the ICJ reinterpret and revise its 2008 judgement which awarded Pulau Batu Puteh, also known as Pedra Branca, and South Ledge to Singapore.
“I’m not sure what Malaysia’s motive is, but their general election is coming, which may have something to do with it,” Lee had reportedly said.
According to Khairy, Malaysia filed the application for ICJ's judicial review on Feb 2, 2017, after the discovery of new facts found in three documents from the UK National Archives.
He said Malaysia filed its application with the ICJ six months after the discovery of the documents, adding that it was Malaysia's right to do so.
“The first and second application for an interpretation of the ruling that were filed on June 30, 2017, were not made without basis,” Khairy said.
“As a reminder (to Lee), the Malaysian Parliament has not been dissolved even until today – more than a year from the date of the discovery of the new facts,” Khairy said.
“It is easy to gain political support by making allegations on other countries as Lee did during the PAP convention, but unlike him, Malaysia takes the issue of sovereignty seriously,” he added, denying this had anything to do with any elections.
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