M'sia royal commission recommends criminal investigation of Mahathir over decision to stop Pedra Branca ICJ appeal

On Dec. 5, Malaysia’s Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to Investigate the Handling of Matters Related to the Sovereignty of Batu Puteh (Pedra Branca), Middle Rocks, and South Ledge recommended that former Malaysia prime minister Mahathir Mohamad face a criminal investigation.

This was after Mahathir was accused of unilaterally deciding not to proceed with the applications for review and interpretation of the rulings regarding Pedra Branca.

ICJ ruling

In 2008 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Pedra Branca, which Malaysia refers to as Batu Puteh, an island located at the east entrance of the Straits of Singapore.

In addition, it ruled that Malaysia had sovereignty over Middle Rocks.

At the same time, the ICJ determined that the ownership of South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located.

The then newly-elected government of Mahathir, the first in the country's history to have unseated the Barisan Nasional, chose to end Malaysia's appeal regarding the Pedra Branca ruling in 2018.

In 2023, the newly-elected Anwar Ibrahim had said during a visit to Singapore, that the Pedra Branca issue was “done, but there was pain”, indicating that despite Malaysia's dissatisfaction with the ruling, it intended to abide by it.

Royal commission

However, this appears to have referred to its external position, with the decision to discontinue the Pedra Branca issue with the ICJ continuing to cause contention in Malaysia.

In January 2024 Anwar’s government set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the handling of matters related to the ICJ ruling.

On Dec. 5 the RCI's 217-page report was distributed to members of Malaysia's Parliament, the Dewan Rakyat.

One of its most notable recommendations was that a criminal investigation could be initiated against former PM Mahathir under Section 415 (b) and Section 418 of Malaysia's penal code, as reported by Bernama.

The report accused Mahathir of unilaterally deciding not to proceed with the applications for review and interpretation of the ICJ rulings.

Deception

It also suggested it needed to be demonstrated that Mahathir had deceived the Malaysia cabinet and that if the cabinet had been provided with the action papers for the ICJ case, along with written opinions from international consultants, the cabinet would have likely had a different perspective.

The Star reported that the RCI found that Malaysia did not have a “weak case”, contrary to what Mahathir had said and that the decision to stop pursuing the application at the final stages “is very regrettable”.

The report stated that two local consultants had said that Malaysia filed the application to review the ICJ ruling based on three new documents.

It also said Singapore's appeal to strike out Malaysia's application had been rejected by the ICJ, and Malaysia's application to review the decision was not “exactly as weak as defined by Dr Mahathir”.

It went on to say that the decision not to pursue both applications had been “solely based on Mahathir's explanation”, not through a thorough discussion.

State governments

Bernama also reported that the RCI had suggested that future matters involving natural sovereignty should be carried out in “an integrated manner that involved not just relevant federal agencies, but included state governments”.

It found that the decision not to proceed with the ICJ applications resulted in Johor losing the opportunity to reclaim its territorial sovereignty.

The Sultan of Johor has on numerous occasions complained about the decision not to continue with the Pedra Branca appeals.

In 2022 the sultan compared the Malaysian federal government's treatment of the state to that of a “stepchild”.

He specifically referenced the Pedra Branca decision, complaining that the federal government had not consulted Johor despite the decision involving Johor sovereignty and that it was a clear breach of the state’s rights, even threatening secession.

Would not affect good bilateral relations

Singapore for its part considers the Pedra Branca issue to be settled but has said that it stands ready to “robustly defend” its sovereignty over the island of Pedra Branca.

In January 2024, just after Malaysia set up the RCI, Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan told CNA that the RCI was an internal matter of Malaysia’s.

An MFA spokesman said Singapore did not see the RCI as affecting the good bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia.

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Top image via Canva and Mahathir Mohamad/Facebook