JOHOR BARU: Those involved in withdrawing the application review of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)'s decision on Batu Puteh must be held accountable, says a state executive councillor.
Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin said the application's withdrawal as revealed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) is a blatant betrayal of the people's trust.
"On behalf of the people of Pengerang, I would like to stress that the Federal Government must bear the moral responsibility to convey a clear message that the betrayal of national sovereignty is absolutely unacceptable.
We strongly urge that all individuals involved in the decision be held accountable, and if found guilty, they should be brought to justice with no compromise," he said.
The Tanjung Surat assemblyman – representing the constituency closest to Batu Puteh - said he was voicing the disappointment of the people in Pengerang.
"The people of Pengerang have put great hopes on the efforts to reclaim the sovereignty of Batu Puteh for so long.
What is even more disheartening is that such a significant decision was made unilaterally by a Prime Minister without undergoing the proper procedures and disregarding advice from legal experts and historical facts," he said.
He said the loss of Batu Puteh was not just a piece of rock but also the sovereignty of the country.
"The struggle to defend Malaysia’s sovereignty was brought to an abrupt end by the actions of a Prime Minister who handed over the nation’s rights to foreign powers arbitrarily," he said.
In 2008, the ICJ granted Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Batu Puteh to Singapore, while leaving the ownership of South Ledge to be determined based on the delimitation of territorial waters.
In 2018, the government led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided to withdraw Malaysia’s application to review the ICJ decision on the sovereignty of Batu Puteh.
In February this year, the government announced that His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had consented to the formation of the RCI on the handling of sovereignty issues involving Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge.
On Dec 5, the RCI released its declassified report, stating that Dr Mahathir had unilaterally decided to withdraw applications to review and interpret the ICJ’s 2008 decision.
The RCI, headed by former chief justice Tun Md Raus Sharif, also suggested that a criminal probe be initiated against Dr Mahathir for his action on the sovereignty issue.
