JOHOR BARU: Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar (pic) has decreed that the report by the special task force on Pulau Batu Puteh case be made public.
This comes as His Majesty received the interim report from the task force on the case involving Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
According to a statement posted on Sultan Ibrahim’s Facebook page, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, accompanied by the task force chairman Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, presented the report during a briefing at Istana Polo here yesterday.
Also present at the briefing was Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim and Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
Sultan Ibrahim reiterated that the special task force must reveal to the public the real reason behind then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s government’s decision to abandon the case review.
“This is a question of Johor’s honour and sovereignty. The people of Johor have the right to know why the Pakatan Harapan government did not pursue the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” His Majesty said.
On Oct 29 last year, the Cabinet agreed to the forming of the task force after the administration of Dr Mahathir had in 2018 decided to drop an application to review the Pulau Batu Puteh case in ICJ.
The Pakatan government withdrew the application, which was to have been heard in June that year, to overturn ICJ’s ruling awarding legal jurisdiction of Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore in 2008.
Sultan Ibrahim previously said that not pursuing the case was as good as admitting defeat even before going into the legal battle in ICJ.
His Majesty had said this was despite the discovery of new evidence in support of Malaysia’s case.
“We declared defeat even before going into battle. Was Johor’s sovereignty not important to the government at the time?” Sultan Ibrahim had questioned then.
In April, Wan Junaidi said the report by the task force into the case and legal aspects would be presented to the Cabinet soon.The task force was given six months to complete its findings and to shed light on who is responsible for Malaysia losing its ownership of the island located some 7.7 nautical miles south of Johor.
Apart from the special task force, several subcommittees were also set up to look into the legality of the issue, including the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore.
In another case, the High Court set June 21 to hear the application by the Malaysian Prime Minister and the government to strike out a suit filed by an individual in connection with the withdrawal of the review application over the ICJ’s decision.
On May 28 last year, Mohd Hatta Sanuri, 46, filed the suit, contending that the withdrawal of the review was made without discussing and tabling it first in Parliament.
Claims over Pulau Batu Puteh – called Pedra Branca (white rock) in Singapore – surfaced in 1979.
