Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Institutional Reform, Azalina Othman Said, has said in Malaysian Parliament on Feb. 27 that Malaysia does not intend to pursue legal action to reclaim Pedra Branca.

Somewhere beyond the sea

According to Free Malaysia Today, Azalina said that Malaysia’s government is not pursing any legal action to reclaim Pedra Branca, which Malaysia refers to as Batu Puteh.

Azalina's written reply came after the leader of the opposition, Hamza Zainudin, asked what legal action was being taken to reclaim Pedra Branca.

However she said Malaysia and Singapore would continue to negotiate on Pedra Branca maritime boundary delineation.

Negotiations for being carried out by the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Technical Committee, and the Committee for Boundary Delimitation.

Azalina said in the Malaysian Parliament, that the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) was established to review the handling of the sovereignty case regarding Pedra Branca, as well as the Middle Rocks and South Ledge, according to The Sun.

Year 16 of 10

Pedra Branca was awarded to Singapore by the International Court of Justice in 2008, who also awarded the Middle Rocks to Malaysia, and added that sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the State in the territorial waters of which it is located.

Malaysia initially indicated a desire to appeal the decision before a ten-year deadline for appeals, but under the government of Mahathir Mohammad in 2018, decided against it.

In 2021 a task force was set up to look into the decision to forgo appealing the ICJ ruling, taking 10 months to report its findings during the government of Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who said his government intended to proceed with a review bid at the ICJ.

This prompted Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond by saying that Singapore was prepared to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over Pedra Branca.

But during a 2023 visit to Singapore, incumbent Malaysian prime minister and Ismail Sabri’s successor Anwar Ibrahim said that although there was “pain”, Malaysia considered the matter of sovereignty “done”.

However, Anwar said there were other aspects that still required discussion or Singapore, such as issues regarding the environment.

Malaysia would continue to negotiate on these issues, but would no longer negotiate on the basis of ownership of Pedra Branca.

Fact finding mission

One of the ongoing issues for the Malaysian government was how the decision to cease the appeal for Pedra Branca came to be.

Azalina said as much on Feb. 27 when she described the RCI as a fact-finding mission, as reported by the New Straits Times.

The RCI, which was set up in Jan 2024, would enable an “in-depth and independent investigation to be carried out in a transparent and professional manner”.

"The people of Malaysia deserve to know the raw truth and web of reasons behind this decision," she said.

Azalina said the RCI’s terms of reference would include gathering relevant previous statements, consider challenges faced by the previous task force, and “review, study, and prepare views and  recommendations” on further legal and non-legal actions.

The RCI process was expected to take between one to three months, but was allowed to take as long as six months.

The report would then be presented to the Malaysian king, and the government was also committed to having the RCI report tabled in parliament.

Powers of arrest

The 2021 task force did not have the authority to summon individuals for questioning, with some refusing to extend their corporation either due to personal or professional reasons.

This refusal to co-operate meant that the task force was unable to verify facts, and conduct the investigation effectively and holistically as it did not have any clear powers under the law.

This would not be the case for the RCI, with Malaysiakini reporting that it would be empowered to issue warrants of arrest against those who refuse to testify.

As it happens, the prime minister that decided against further appeals was Mahathir Mohamad, erstwhile ally and current nemesis of current PM Anwar.

Mahathir had previously spoken on how the decision to not seek a review of the ICJ's decision came about, citing the views of foreign legal consultant, as well as cost implications.

Mahathir’s lawyers have said that they may advise him to not testify before the RCI, with Mahathir citing an alleged conflict of interest between himself and the RCI’s chairperson, the former chief justice Md Raus Sharif.

This decision may lead to a showdown between the Malaysian government, the RCI and Mahathir.

According to FMT, Malaysian legal observers have said that Mahathir risks arrest by refusing to co-operate.

If you want to know more

@mothershipsg S’pore has sovereignty over the island, but M’sia set up a royal commission to look into the handling of the matter. #singapore #malaysia #pedrabranca ♬ original sound - Mothership

Related Stories

Top image via Wikipedia & Azalina Othman Said/Facebook