The Yang DiPertua Agung has consented for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the matter of Batu Puteh or Pedra Banca which was surrendered to Singapore without a strong protest by then Putrajaya under Tun Mahathir.
In 2008 the International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled that Singapore has sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh, the strategic tiny lighthouse island near the Malaysian shore. While sovereignty over the nearby Middle Rocks (Terumbu Karang Tengah) was awarded to Malaysia.
In 2017, the Malaysian government filed an application for review of the decision of the ICJ, but the Pakatan Harapan government under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad withdrew the application before the case was scheduled to be heard on June 11, 2018.
Ex Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in October 2022, announced the creation of the task force to seek international legal advice on the available options to seek a judicial review of the Pulau Batu Puteh case.
In 2023, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim vowed to get to the bottom of the matter since questioning Tun Mahathir’s withdrawal and handing over Batu Puteh without a fight.
With the RCI more clarity will revealed on the lack of will from Putrajaya at that tine but a the same will also cause some discomfort on Malaysia-Singapore relationship.
