More trouble for Tun M? The Agong agreed to appoint 7 RCI members to investigate Batu Puteh's case

More trouble for Tun M? The Agong agreed to appoint 7 RCI members to investigate Batu Puteh's case

20 Feb 2024

Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim has agreed to the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate incidents affecting the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge.


According to the New Straits Times, the Prime Minister's Department stated that the King's consent was granted in accordance with the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950 (Act 119).


According to the department, the cabinet has agreed to form the RCI with Sultan Ibrahim's consent. Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), and Zamri Misman, Director-General of the Prime Minister's Department's Legal Affairs Division, jointly presented the RCI proposal.


Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, a member of Parliament from Pengerang, proposed the formation of the RCI in 2022.


She stated that the RCI would put an end to the events that have occurred between Malaysia and Singapore since 1979 in this regard.


Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the then-prime minister, has stated that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's incompetence and oversight of the Batu Puteh issue may have occurred when the latter was prime minister.


The special task group for the matter informed the previous administration's cabinet that Dr. Mahathir may have made a mistake in dropping an appeal to contest the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) decision to award Batu Puteh's sovereignty to Singapore.


However, Dr. Mahathir stated that the decision not to appeal was based on the opinion of former Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali's staff.


In 2008, the ICJ ruled that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, the Middle Rocks to Malaysia, and South Ledge to the state in whose territorial seas it is located.


Malaysia applied to the International Court of Justice in June 2017 for an interpretation of the judgment.


In 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government, led by Dr. Mahathir, abandoned an application to overturn the ICJ's verdict that granted Singapore legal control over Batu Puteh.


According to Berita Harian, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar expressed his displeasure with the previous administration's actions in making decisions regarding the Batu Puteh claim issue without referring to his majesty.


Datuk Seri Azalina Othman said, in a meeting with Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, that His Majesty expressed anger at the government's decision at the time that led to the area now belonging to Singapore.