AFTER weeks of keeping mum on the Pulau Batu Puteh controversy, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took to his blog to defend himself against criticism.
“What choice did we have? Both Malaysia and Singapore agreed to take the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after negotiations failed.
“We were told to sign an agreement that both nations will respect the decision made by the ICJ, with no appeals filed against it.
“An honourable country will always keep its promises. If you disregard the promises made, our country will become an outcast and no other nations will work with us anymore,” he said in his blog.
Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob formed a committee, led by former Attorney-General Tan Sri Appandi Ali, to investigate whether then then Pakatan Harapan Government erred in its decision, in 2019, not to file an appeal against ICJ’s verdict to award Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore.
Following the decision, Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar decreed that action should be taken against those responsible if negligence was found in the matter.
“Why? This is what upsets me most. We declared defeat even before going into battle. Was Johor’s sovereignty not important to the Government at the time?
“Why were we treated like a step-child state? If you don’t like Johor…
“How would Kedahans feel if Malaysia lost Langkawi to Thailand?” His Majesty queried back on Oct 14.
Johor official of the past erred
Touching on the matter, Mahathir said that one cannot compare Langkawi Island’s situation to Pulau Batu Puteh, as the Thai Government never filed any claims on the former.
“Langkawi is recognised as an island belonging to Malaysia while Pulau Batu Puteh is a sandbank demanded by two countries.
“Our officers in Kedah never stated to the Thai Government that it did not consider Langkawi Island as part of Kedah.
“However, in Pulau Batu Puteh’s case, there was a letter issued by a Johor official of the past where he clearly stated that Johor did not lay any claims over the island.
“Later when Malaysia later claimed it, Singapore objected,” the Langkawi MP mentioned.
On related matter, Mahathir said that there was no point talking about a country’s sovereignty if its leadership keeps selling its land to foreigners, using Malaysia’s liberal laws on land ownership.
“This is what happened to Singapore. Although the island used to be part of Malaya, it’s has become a foreign country.
“Even in Malaysia, a lot of Malays have lost their land ownership. Thankfully, most of the big and premium lands in the country still belongs to Malaysians,” he remarked. – Oct 21, 2021
