THE Cabinet has agreed with the proposal of the special task force tasked into looking at the sovereignty claims of Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge to continue legal action at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

The Cabinet, after being briefed on the findings of the task force today, was told there was possible negligence and oversight on Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s part over the Batu Puteh claim, the prime minister added.

He said Dr Mahathir, then the prime minister when the ICJ in 2008 decided that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia and South Ledge to the state in the territorial waters in which it is located, had missed the opportunity to file a review application against the judgment.

He said, in a statement, that Putrajaya will take all appropriate measures to defend Malaysia’s sovereignty.

In 2017, Malaysia applied to the ICJ to request an interpretation of the judgment.

However, in 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government of Dr Mahathir withdrew the application to overturn the ruling awarding legal jurisdiction of Batu Puteh to Singapore.

Ismail said Dr Mahathir had also failed when he decided not to file for the judgment interpretation request of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge. – October 13, 2022.