JOHOR ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar today asked whether the state’s sovereignty was not important enough that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government made the erroneous decision not to pursue the Pulau Batu Puteh case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The ruler questioned the decision made by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and whether it was negligent of him not to pursue the sovereignty of the island.

“We declared defeat even before going into battle. Was Johor’s sovereignty not important to the government at the time?

“Why were we treated like a step-child state? How would Kedahans feel if Malaysia lost Langkawi to Thailand?

“If allegations of negligence in the matter are true, this warrants stern action against those responsible. This is a matter of our nation’s sovereignty,” he said in a Facebook post.

The Johor ruler added he was upset that the government did not pursue the matter further, especially in light of new evidence that was in favour of Malaysia.

“This is what upsets me most.”

Last week, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob set up a new committee headed by former-attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali to look into the dispute.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insight shortly after his appointment, Apandi said Malaysia can still apply to the ICJ to interpret its 2008 judgment on the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh disputed by Malaysia and Singapore.

Apandi, who had filed for a review of ICJ’s decision in 2017, said Malaysia still has good grounds for seeking an interpretation of the decision.

He said the committee will also look at “negligence” on Dr Mahathir’s part.

On May 9, 2003, Malaysia and Singapore agreed to submit their dispute about sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh and two nearby maritime features, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, to the ICJ.

In 2008, the ICJ gave the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore. The court ruled that Malaysia owned Middle Rocks, while it refrained from awarding South Ledge to either country, stating that it belonged to the government in whose territorial waters it is located.

In July 2017, Malaysia also filed a separate application requesting the ICJ to interpret the 2008 judgment on Pulau Batu Puteh.

However, shortly after PH won the 2018 general election, Dr Mahathir announced that Malaysia would accept the ICJ ruling and would not pursue the matter. – October 14, 2021.