Court can’t decide on Pulau Batu Puteh issue as it’s a policy decision, says govt lawyer

 

In 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government withdrew an application to overturn the International Court of Justice’s ruling awarding legal jurisdiction of Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore. (AFP pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court will rule on July 1 on the government’s application to strike out a suit filed by an individual against the withdrawal of a review application over the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision on the Pulau Batu Puteh claim.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan said Judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz needed more time to deliberate on the submissions made by parties during an online proceeding.

Hatta Sanuri had filed the suit on May 28 last year, naming Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the government as defendants.

Shamsul, in his submission, said the subject matter in dispute was non-justiciable (cannot be entertained by the court) as it involved government policy.

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“The withdrawal of the ICJ’s review is a manifestation of a political decision in relation to foreign policy, an area about which the court is ill-equipped to adjudge,” he said.

Shamsul said the action by Hatta to file the suit on his behalf and on behalf of the more than 32 million Malaysians was also an abuse of process.

He said Hatta chose to ignore the various explanations given by the defendants, both within and outside of Parliament.

Shamsul said Hatta also lacked the legal standing to bring the action.

“It is imperceivable how the government’s decision to withdraw from the ICJ’s review amounted to an interference in the plaintiff’s (Hatta) public right,” he said.

Shamsul said no other Malaysian had come forward to share Hatta’s grievance.

“This case is the plaintiff’s one-man crusade,” he said in urging the court to strike out the suit with costs.

Lawyer Mohaji Selamat, who represented Hatta, submitted that the striking out application contradicted the position taken by law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to set up a task force on the issue and present a report to the present government.

He said there were serious questions that needed deliberation and this was only possible in a trial.

Mohaji said the defendants had decided on the withdrawal without consulting the attorney-general as required under the Federal Constitution.

In 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government under the leadership of Mahathir withdrew an application to overturn the ICJ’s ruling awarding legal jurisdiction of Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore.

In his statement of claim, Hatta said the government had not provided an explanation as to why it had withdrawn the application despite fresh evidence that favoured Malaysia’s dominion over the island.

He is seeking, among other things, an explanation for the withdrawal and for a declaration that the defendants had been negligent and had violated the trust placed on them by citizens.

Hatta wants the defendants to pay a minimum RM10 million in compensation to each Malaysian for the loss of the island, which is also known as Pedra Branca. - FMT