Batu Puteh: Investigate all parties, not just Tun M, says lawyer

SHAH ALAM – A senior lawyer has urged the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to adopt a more equitable approach by recommending a comprehensive criminal investigation into all parties involved in the Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks (Batuan Tengah), and South Ledge (Tubir Selatan) sovereignty case.

Instead of singling out former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla argued that other officials, such as the Attorney General and Solicitor General, should also face scrutiny for their potential role in the matter.

Haniff expressed his surprise that public officials who neglected their duties were not recommended for any disciplinary or legal action.

"Why were similar recommendations not made for those involved, including the former Attorney General and Solicitor General?

"Why did the RCI stop short, seemingly blaming Dr Mahathir entirely while letting others off the hook?" he questioned in an interview with Sinar.

He emphasised that for the RCI to act justly, it should have proposed investigations into the Attorney General and Solicitor General at the time for similar offences as those alleged against Dr Mahathir.

Haniff called RCI Secretary and Legal Affairs Division Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Zamri Misman to lodge a police report to enable a thorough, transparent and fair investigation.

Mohamed Haniff

Haniff also stated that the RCI’s recommendation for a criminal investigation against Dr Mahathir was flawed, as two of the RCI panel members found no evidence of wrongdoing by the former prime minister during his fourth and seventh terms in office.

As a result, Haniff said that the recommendation to initiate a criminal investigation against Dr Mahathir was inaccurate.

He further stressed that the public should not assume Dr Mahathir was definitively guilty of deceiving the Cabinet or the nation, as the RCI’s suggestions were merely proposals, not final judgments.

Previously, media reports highlighted the RCI's suggestion that a criminal investigation against Dr Mahathir be initiated.

The proceedings followed Malaysia’s loss of Batu Puteh to Singapore after the Cabinet, led by Dr Mahathir in 2018, withdrew an application to overturn the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s decision.

The RCI’s recommendations were outlined in a 217-page report distributed to Members of Parliament last week.

The report was declassified and submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim at the Istana Negara by RCI Chairman Tun Md Raus Sharif on Aug 12.

The commission stated that Dr Mahathir could be investigated under Section 415(b) of the Penal Code and penalised under Sections 417 and 418.

It claimed that Dr Mahathir allegedly misled the Cabinet and deliberately influenced the Malaysian government to withdraw the applications, acting unilaterally without Cabinet approval.

The RCI further stated that if the Cabinet had been presented with an ICJ case action paper and written opinions from international consultants, it might have adopted a different stance on the applications.

The report alleged that Dr Mahathir misled the Cabinet into abandoning the applications despite international consultants’ opinions indicating a strong probability of success.

The commission argued that an investigation under Section 418 could also be pursued, as Dr Mahathir may have knowingly caused wrongful loss to Malaysia by failing to safeguard national interests as prime minister.