Court rejects Dr M's bid for legal representation in Batu Puteh RCI

Summary

• Ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad fails in his bid to get judicial review to allow him and his legal team to attend Batu Puteh RCI proceedings.

• Judge dismisses the application, full grounds of judgment to be released soon.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has rejected Dr Mahathir Mohamad's judicial review bid to allow him and his legal counsel to be present throughout the proceedings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) regarding the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge.

Judge Amarjeet Singh dismissed the former premier’s application without costs during proceedings attended by Mahathir’s lawyers Zainur Zakaria and Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, as well as senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Nur Hafizza Azizan representing the respondents.

"Judicial review is dismissed, and there is no order as to costs," Amarjeet stated in his brief judgment, according to Bernama.

When asked by Zainur about the reasons for dismissing the application, Amarjeet replied: "I will provide the full grounds of judgment in the near future."

RCI report

On June 12 last year, the former prime minister gave testimony in the RCI proceedings held behind closed doors. The RCI declassified its report, which was issued on Dec 5, 2024.

The RCI report opined that Mahathir may have intentionally influenced the cabinet to abandon both related applications, despite international consultants' opinions that there were grounds and likelihood of success for these applications.

The two applications involved were for the review and interpretation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision on May 23, 2008.

The ICJ had ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Batu Puteh, while Middle Rocks, located less than 1km from the island, belonged to Malaysia.

Additionally, the ICJ determined that the ownership of South Ledge, approximately 4km from Batu Puteh, would be decided based on the delimitation of the maritime boundaries of the respective countries.

In its 217-page report, the RCI also recommended that criminal investigations could be initiated against Mahathir under Section 415(b) of the Penal Code, with penalties under Sections 417 and 418 of the same code.

Mandamus order bid

Mahathir filed the judicial review application on June 5 last year, naming eight respondents, including RCI chairperson Md Raus Sharif.

He alleged that he was not allowed to be represented by his chosen legal counsel during the RCI proceedings and claimed that he had the right to legal representation of his choice during the investigation.

Mahathir sought a declaration that he was a party of interest in the RCI investigation or involved in matters being investigated by the commission. Thus, he requested a mandamus order to allow him and his counsel to attend the RCI proceedings.

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LETTER | Batu Puteh: Stop the blame game