JOHOR BARU: Stern action must be taken on those responsible for dropping the review application for the Pulau Batu Puteh case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), says Johor MCA Youth.
State chief Ling Tian Soon echoed the call by Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, who on Friday (Oct 15), had demanded a clear explanation why the case was dropped by the Federal Government which was under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2018.
Ling, who is also the political secretary of MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, said on Feb 2, 2017, Malaysia filed an application for review of the 2008 decision by the ICJ, which ruled that Pulau Batu Puteh was a sovereign territory of Singapore.
The island is located at 7.7 nautical miles (about 14.2km) south of Johor.
"However, the trial, which was scheduled to run from June 11 to June 18, 2018, was struck out upon the Pakatan Harapan-led government’s request.
"It is understood that the outcome of the case could have been in our country’s favour based on new evidence found," Ling said on Saturday (Oct 16).
He also lauded the Cabinet’s decision to set up a special task force to review laws relating to the Pulau Batu Puteh case.
"This new action brings hope to Malaysians to one day see Pulau Batu Puteh returned to our nation," he said.
On Oct 9, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said a special task force headed by former attorney general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali would conduct thorough research and propose suitable options by getting views from experts on international law.
Ismail Sabri added that the task force would be given six months to produce findings and recommendations for the Cabinet’s further action.
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