KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) tasked with reviewing the handling of sovereignty matters of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge presented its final report to the King of Malaysia, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim.
A post on Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s Facebook page announced that the RCI, led by chairman Tun Md Raus Sharif, presented the report to His Majesty at Istana Negara today.
In February, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department announced Sultan Ibrahim had consented to the establishment of the RCI.
Subsequently, the commission was established in accordance with the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950.
On May 23, 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Singapore holds sovereignty over Batu Puteh, while Middle Rocks, less than 1km away, belongs to Malaysia.
The ICJ ruled that the ownership of South Ledge, located approximately 4km from Batu Puteh, will be determined based on the delimitation of territorial waters.
On February 2, 2017, Malaysia filed an application to review the ICJ’s ruling.
However, in May 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government, led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, withdrew the application two weeks before it was scheduled to be heard on June 11, 2018.
On February 27, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the purpose of the RCI was to seek resolution and improve issues related to national sovereignty, rather than assign blame to any party.
Azalina emphasised that Malaysians, particularly the people of Johor, deserve a clear explanation of the reasons behind the decision not to pursue the application for review and request for interpretation at the ICJ, regarding the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge.
On June 12, Dr Mahathir provided testimony during closed RCI proceedings.
— Bernama
