FORMER Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was correct in his decision not to cooperate with the special task force reviewing a 2018 decision not to pursue Malaysia’s claims on Pulau Batu Puteh, Tommy Thomas said. 

The former attorney-general said that the task force chairman, Mohamed Apandi Ali, who is also his predecessor, is not the right person to lead the task force as it was he who had advised the previous government to file for a review of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision on Batu Puteh and two other islands.

“Dr Mahathir has got a strong case because the one person who was very much behind Malaysia’s attempt to relitigate the Batu Puteh case against Singapore in the world court was Apandi.”

“Dr Mahathir was acting correctly by listening to legal advice (not to pursue the case). “

“So, I support Dr Mahathir,” Thomas said today during the launch of the Chinese edition of his “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness” book. 

Thomas added that the advice to Dr Mahathir not to pursue the case was given before he became attorney-general.

In a previous report, Free Malaysia Today reported that the advice was given by “foreign legal consultants”, citing court documents.

Last Tuesday, Dr Mahathir was summoned by the special task force probing his decision when he was prime minister of the Pakatan Harapan government not to pursue a review of the Pulau Batu Puteh case.

However, the Langkawi MP walked out after discovering that the panel was still being chaired by Apandi.Dr Mahathir said the former attorney-general had been involved in the case and his helming of the panel was a conflict of interest.

Following Dr Mahathir’s decision to walk out, de facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Dr Mahathir should have taken his reservations over Apandi heading the task force to the government earlier.

The Pejuang chairman’s lawyers claimed he had already sent three letters objecting to Apandi’s appointment to the task force.

The task force was set up last October under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to review the ICJ’s 2008 decision to award the island to Singapore.

Malaysia was awarded rights to a neighbouring island, Middle Rocks. 

The ICJ refrained from awarding the third island, South Ledge, to either country, stating that it belonged to the government in whose territorial waters it is located.

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

The following year, after Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya, Dr Mahathir announced that Malaysia would accept the ICJ ruling and would not pursue the matter.  – July 3, 2022.