‘History lost us Batu Puteh’
“Malaysia didn’t lose PBP because we had weaker arguments or insufficient evidence to support our case,” he said. “We lost because the court held the view that certain non-erasable facts of history — particularly those events which took place between 1953 and 1980 — had destroyed Malaysia’s sovereign position on the island, Johor’s original title notwithstanding.”
By Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: Over two years have passed since Malaysia lost its duel with Singapore over sovereign right to Pulau Batu Puteh (PBP). While Singapore walked away with the coveted island, we had to be content with a maritime feature of lesser significance known as Middle Rocks. The May 2008 verdict by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) split Malaysian opinion. One half believed that we were robbed of our national territory, while the other decreed that we had courted defeat.
The common ground between both sides was dismay. That emotion would have no doubt resurfaced with the recent publication of ‘Pedra Branca: The Road to the World Court’ (henceforth referred to as Pedra Branca).
Their book not only offered an insight into behind-the-scenes proceedings of the case but also a disturbing account of Malaysia’s conduct during the hearing.
The authors disclosed that Malaysia had employed tactics that “would not have been tolerated in any domestic court of law”. They listed these tactics as mis-translating a text, suppressing parts of quotations to support its arguments and using a misleading photograph of the island.
In an earlier interview with FMT, prominent lawyer Karpal Singh expressed his shock at these revelations and called them a “terrible embarrassment” for Malaysia.
While he voiced his faith in the accuracy and credibility of the two authors (one of whom was his lecturer and the other his senior in university), he also urged the Malaysian side to rebut or explain their comments.
That rebuttal has come in the form of a 30-page article penned by Malaysia’s agent to the ICJ, Abdul Kadir Mohamad. Entitled ‘The Case of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge at the International Court of Justice’, the article was published last year by Malaysia’s Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations.
Kadir was also the former secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry and is currently the adviser on foreign affairs to the Prime Minister.
Singapore’s arrogance sparked the dispute
Kadir began his narration by attributing the root of the dispute to “Singapore’s arrogance in the conduct of its relations with Malaysia and the insensitivity towards the feelings of Malaysians”.
According to him, Malaysia had deliberately published the controversial 1979 map which showed PBP as part of Malaysian territory to reaffirm Malaysia’s sovereignty over the island. It was that map which sparked the three decades of dispute.
