MALAYSIA’S application to review the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision to award Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore will not jeopardise its relationship with Singapore, said the island republic’s foreign minister.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said although both countries laid claim to Pulau Batu Puteh, also known as Pedra Branca, the leaders of both countries still maintained a good relationship.

“But let me tell you the greater significance behind this, which is that Malaysia and Singapore have been able to resolve differences peacefully, and by using international law – processes and institutions that are set up under international law.

“And that, in fact, is a very good model. So you see, you can have this difference, but Prime Minister Najib Razak and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong are meeting, communicating regularly. They just met,” Dr Balakrishnan told a group of Asean reporters in Singapore yesterday.

“I see Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman all the time, and I’m on WhatsApp with him. I won’t say it doesn’t matter but, it does not stop bilateral relations, cooperation, and peace between us,” he added.

Last Monday, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin took Lee to task for linking Malaysia’s next general election to its request to review ICJ’s decision to award Pulau Batu Puteh to the republic.

Khairy said Lee’s comment, made at the PAP Awards and Convention, was an irresponsible allegation and could hurt ties between the countries.

Malaysian Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali echoed Khairy’s statement and said Malaysia’s application was not linked to politics.

Dr Balakrishnan said he did not wished to comment on the issue.

“With Pedra Branca, I don’t have anything more than what my prime minister said over the weekend.”

“What’s more important is that we have access to peaceful means of resolving disputes. And that is why we are such strong believers in international law.”

Malaysia filed its application to review ICJ’s decision in February by submitting three new facts that were not submitted when ICJ heard the case in 2008.

The new findings were obtained from the National Archives of United Kingdom between August 4, 2016 and January 30, 2017.

The new evidence included correspondences between the authorities in Singapore in 1958, a British naval officer’s report in the same year and a map containing notes from the navy in the 1960s.

The new evidence was to prove that Pulau Batu Puteh was not a part of Singapore. – November 24, 2017.