THE Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) established to review Malaysia’s handling of the sovereignty case involving Pulau Batu Puteh has completed its report, leaving it to the government to decide whether the findings will be made public.

The report which contains sensitive details regarding ongoing negotiations with Singapore over territorial waters will be presented to Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim later this month.

The RCI will leave it to the government to make a final decision on whether to make its report public, but members will make certain suggestions to the prime minister, a local news portal quoted a source as saying.

The RCI, which submitted its final classified report to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at Istana Negara on Monday (Aug 12), will make recommendations to the PM but will ultimately defer the decision on public disclosure to the government.

Moreover, RCI was formed after Malaysia’s withdrawal in 2018 of a review application filed in 2017 to challenge a 2008 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that awarded sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore. The ICJ had also awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia while leaving the ownership of South Ledge to be determined by the delimitation of territorial waters.

The RCI, led by former chief justice Tun Md Raus Sharif, was established following the consent of Sultan Ibrahim on Feb 14, 2024, to investigate why Malaysia withdrew its review application.

Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said previously stated that the RCI’s purpose was to seek resolutions and strengthen national sovereignty rather than assign blame.

Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who led the Pakatan Harapan government at the time of the withdrawal, testified before the RCI on June 12. His request to recuse three members of the panel including Raus was denied by the High Court, which also rejected his bid to have the proceedings conducted publicly.

Dr Mahathir’s appeal on these matters is currently pending in the Court of Appeal.

He has also strongly criticised Raus’s involvement in the RCI, arguing that it violates natural justice given Raus’s prior role as chief justice and his participation in a 2021 task force that reviewed the Pulau Batu Puteh case.

Datuk Dr Baljit Singh Sidhu and Datuk Ridha Abd Kadir would have predetermined the issues because they were also members of a special task force set up in 2021 to scrutinise and give recommendations about Pulau Batu Puteh including a review of laws, according to Dr Mahathir. - Aug 16, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/govt-to-weigh-public-release-of-pulau-batu-puteh-rci-findings-sources-reveal/