Batu Puteh: National interest or political interest?

DATUK Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in a rousing speech at the “Solidarity – Stability and Prosperity” gathering in Bagan Datuk, Perak, on Oct 17, was in combative mode. In the presence of Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is Bagan Datuk’s Member of Parliament, the caretaker Prime Minister highlighted the need for Barisan’s machinery to quickly react to issues raised by the Opposition deemed to slander the government and Umno.

Top of his list that day was the case against former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and the issues surrounding Batu Puteh.

“I have given you the bullets. For example, the Tommy Thomas case. We have decided to declassify the probe into Tommy Thomas. I have asked the relevant authorities to upload it on the website, the details on Tommy’s wrongdoings.”

The report was finally made public on Friday.

“We must capitalise on issues raised by the Opposition, to attack them for spreading untruths against us,” he said.

At the same event he spoke about Batu Puteh and on the possible negligence on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s part because he had directed the appeal to be withdrawn without any Cabinet approval.

One year ago, Ismail Sabri announced a special task force had been set up to conduct a comprehensive study of the case of the territorial sovereignty of Pedra Branca/Batu Puteh and to recommend options by seeking the views of international legal experts.

The purpose of this effort is to review laws in relation to application for revision and interpretation in the case of Batu Puteh and seek preliminary legal views on legal action under the tort of misfeasance against parties found to have committed negligence and error for not proceeding with the application for review and interpretation of the case.

Four days after Parliament was dissolved on Oct 10, the Prime Minister said the Cabinet agreed with the following proposals from the task force:

> Proceed with legal action at the International Court of Justice (ICJ);

> Look into possible negligence and oversight by Dr Mahathir when Malaysia failed to file a review of the ICJ’s 2008 decision and request for an interpretation of the decision on Batu Puteh, Batuan Tengah and Tubir Selatan;

> Take appropriate actions to defend the country’s sovereignty.

On May 23, 2008, the ICJ passed a judgment after Malaysia and Singapore sought a decision on the territorial sovereignty of the two rock features and a low tide elevation. The ICJ said that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore and awarded Batuan Tengah to Malaysia. The ICJ also ruled that the sovereignty of South Ledge (Tubir Selatan) belonged to the state in whose territorial waters it lies.

In 2017, the Malaysian government filed an application to review the ICJ decision following the discovery of “some important facts”. In 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government under Dr Mahathir withdrew this application to overturn the ruling that awarded legal jurisdiction of Batu Puteh to Singapore before the hearing of the case, which was scheduled for June 11 that year.

By his own admission on the Batu Puteh case, Ismail Sabri has upped the ante in the run up to the 15th General Election (GE15).

Since this has become a political issue, it begs the question of which is more important: politics or the country’s sovereignty?

Batu Puteh is being used as a political tool by the caretaker government against the former two-time prime minister who has declared he is contesting again in Langkawi. Perhaps there is a case against Dr Mahathir but will it be in our national interest to pursue this case again at the ICJ despite Malaysia missing the 10-year deadline from the date of the ICJ judgment? Article 61 (5) of the Statute of the ICJ states that an application for revision may not be made after a lapse of 10 years from the date of judgment.

It has been 14 years since the judgment was made. We should be concerned whether this move may instead be detrimental to national interest. Singapore has already indicated that it stands ready to robustly defend its sovereignty over Pedra Branca and will deal with whatever legal action Malaysia may pursue.

So many questions beg answers following Ismail Sabri’s announcement. Have the relevant agencies studied the report submitted by the task force and agreed to pursue the recommendations? Who will decide whether Dr Mahathir made the wrong decision when he was the prime minister?

Pengerang MP Datuk Azalina Othman Said, in asking the government to initiate a Royal Com-mission of inquiry into the loss of Batu Puteh, also urged the government to uphold the order of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, to make the report of the special task force public because this is a matter of Johor state sovereignty.

Will it be beneficial to make public the task force report? What does it contain? Are there more recommendations?

For sure, Singapore as an interested party will have the advantage because it can make early preparations to respond to any legal overtures made by Malaysia. Is Malaysia exposing its strategy?

So many government agencies are involved in handling the Batu Puteh case and any recommendations by the task force should be studied by the officials who will need to go back to the Cabinet for a decision. That decision is not in the hands of the officials.

Are these bullets strong enough to win back Batu Puteh as insisted by Ismail Sabri? It might just end up being a case of missing the forest for the trees.

The general election is mostly about bread and butter issues and not political rhetoric. Will these issues raised by Ismail Sabri resonate with the voters?