KUALA LUMPUR – The maritime boundaries around Pulau Batu Puteh, which was awarded to Singapore by a world court, will be kept secret, said Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The delimitation is being carried out by Malaysia and Singapore under a “12-month expedited negotiation” process to speed up a decision on the boundaries, but the information will be kept confidential, the law minister said in a parliamentary written reply dated February 27.
“Both parties, that is the governments of Malaysia and Singapore, have agreed that the contents of the negotiation, including the decision and negotiation notes, are of confidential nature and cannot be revealed without the written agreement of both parties,” the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said.
Her written reply was in response to opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (Larut-PN) who asked if Malaysia was taking further legal steps, aside from holding a royal commission of inquiry, to reclaim sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh and ensure its ownership of South Ledge.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on May 23, 2008, awarded Singapore sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh, while Malaysia was given ownership of Middle Rocks. The court however kept an open verdict on South Ledge, which it said belonged to the country within whose boundaries the islet is located.
A Malaysia-Singapore joint technical committee has been working on the boundary delimitation, but Azalina in her written reply said Prime MInister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had ordered that the decision be expedited.
Azalina also said Malaysia was not taking any new legal action to reclaim sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh.
Malaysia lost its right to challenge the ICJ’s ruling as the government in 2018, under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the time, withdrew two review applications to revise the court’s ruling. ICJ rulings can only be challenged within 10 years of the judgment.
Putrajaya recently formed the RCI to review the government’s handling of matters related to Malaysia’s sovereignty of the three islets, which are located south of Johor. – February 28, 2024