Malaysia to launch royal commission of inquiry to look into cases involving disputed Singapore Strait islets

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will set up a royal commission of inquiry to study the handling of cases involving three disputed islets in the Singapore Strait, the Cabinet said on Wednesday (Jan 24).

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had previously called for a review of a 2018 decision by Malaysia - under the administration of then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad - to drop its application to revise an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Singapore had sovereignty over Pedra Branca, one of the islets.

The dispute over Pedra Branca dates back to 1979, when Malaysia published a map indicating that the island was within the country's territorial waters. Pedra Branca is located near the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait, about 44km east of mainland Singapore.

The matter was brought to the ICJ in 2003, and on May 23, 2008, it ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Pedra Branca, while Middle Rocks was awarded to Malaysia and South Ledge belonged to the state in whose territorial waters it is located.

Malaysia in 2017 sought to have the Pedra Branca part of the ruling overturned, but dropped its claim a year later after Mahathir became prime minister.

Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali said on Tuesday recommendations for the composition of the inquiry panel will be brought to Malaysia's king for approval.

"The recommendations ... will take into account experts with wide experience in judicial, legal, and public administration matters who can carry out a transparent, fair and equal investigation," Mohd Zuki said in a statement.

Last year, Malaysia's Attorney-General Idris Harun said the government was of the view that the 2018 decision to withdraw two applications to the ICJ concerning the sovereignty of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge was "not in order and improper".

However, he did not elaborate.

He added that his office was also studying recommendations from a task force, including an issue relating to "tort of misfeasance in public office", and will take appropriate action to carry out the Cabinet's decision.

Misfeasance is a form of misconduct and occurs when a public official, public servant or public body knowingly acts to cause loss or harm to a third party.

In response to a query from CNA, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Thursday that the royal commission of inquiry is "an internal matter of Malaysia".

"We do not see this affecting the good bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia," said an MFA spokesperson.

Previously, MFA had said that the country stood ready to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over Pedra Branca.

"After the Court's decision, both Singapore and Malaysia publicly announced that they will accept and abide by the Court's decision which is final," it said on Oct 14, 2022.

"In 2017, Malaysia instituted an application for revision and a request for interpretation of the Court's 2008 decision, which were subsequently withdrawn by Malaysia in 2018.

"Under the Statute of the Court, an application for revision cannot be made after the expiry of 10 years from the date of the Court's 2008 judgment, that is, May 2018."