KUALA LUMPUR: Accused of lying by former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Transport Minister Anthony Loke has stood firm, saying that no briefing was given to the Cabinet on the sovereignty issue involving Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge in 2018.
Loke said Dr Mahathir and the public should read the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report in its entirety, which laid out the entire chronology and background of the issue.
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“The RCI pointed out that the major flaw was the process of decision-making and the way forward is to look at how decisions are made.
“For such an important matter involving national sovereignty, the process should have been more thorough,” Loke told reporters after delivering the keynote address at the Malaysia-China Summit here on Tuesday (Dec 17).
Loke maintained that Dr Mahathir only informed the Cabinet about his decision on the issue.
“Honestly, to many Cabinet members there, it was our first meeting. We don’t even know what a memorandum jemaah menteri (Cabinet paper) looks like.
“After that, we only knew that Cabinet decisions need to be made based on the Cabinet paper and it has to go through (the full) process, (with) all ministries and relevant agencies giving their feedback and comments.
“Only after looking at the feedback can we make a more informed decision. Looking back, this was not the case,” he said.
ALSO READ: Dr Mahathir accuses three of his Cabinet of lying about Batu Puteh
In a joint statement on Dec 12, Loke, former defence minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu and former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said Dr Mahathir had merely “informed” the cabinet on May 23, 2018 about his unilateral decision to drop Malaysia’s appeal in the Batu Puteh case on May 21, 2018.
On Tuesday, Dr Mahathir accused the trio of lying about the decision to withdraw the application for review and interpretation of Pulau Batu Puteh.
Dr Mahathir also said he felt ashamed to have had such ministers in his Cabinet.
“The leaked Cabinet meeting minutes show that the statements made by the three ministers are untrue and false, he said.
In a highly redacted and declassified report tabled in Parliament on Dec 5, the RCI recommended investigations over offences of cheating under Sections 415(b), 417, and 418 of the Penal Code, which resulted in the loss of Batu Puteh.
ALSO READ: Batu Puteh RCI not act of revenge, says PM
It also recommended that the RCI secretary lodge a police report to initiate the probe.
In February, the government announced that His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had consented to the establishment of the RCI.
The issue stems from a decision made by the government in 2018 to withdraw Malaysia’s application to review the International Court of Justice’s decision on the sovereignty of Batu Puteh.
At the time, the government was led by Dr Mahathir.
In 2008, the ICJ ruled that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore while Middle Rocks was awarded to Malaysia.
It also ruled that the ownership of South Ledge should be determined based on the delimitation of territorial waters.
