KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) tasked with reviewing the handling of matters related to the sovereignty 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 official Facebook page announced that the RCI chairman, Tun Md Raus Sharif, along with the commission members, presented the report to His Majesty at Istana Negara today.
In February, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department announced that Sultan Ibrahim had consented to the establishment of the commission.
Subsequently, the RCI was established in accordance with the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950 (Act 119).
On May 23, 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Singapore holds sovereignty over Batu Puteh, while Middle Rocks, situated less than one kilometre away, belongs to Malaysia.
The ICJ ruled that the ownership of South Ledge, located approximately four kilometres from Batu Puteh, would be determined based on the delimitation of territorial waters.
On Feb 2, 2017, Malaysia filed an application to review the ICJ’s ruling.
However, in May 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government, led by Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, withdrew the application two weeks before it was scheduled to be heard on June 11, 2018.
On Feb 27, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), stated that the purpose of establishing the RCI was to seek resolution and improve issues related to national sovereignty, rather than to assign blame to any party.
Azalina emphasised that Malaysians, particularly the people of Johor, deserve a clear explanation of the reasons and factors 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 a closed RCI proceeding.
