Former chief justice Raus to head Batu Puteh RCI

 

Raus Sharif served as the country’s eighth chief justice from April 2017 to July 2018. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim has given his consent for former chief justice Raus Sharif to head the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to look into matters related to the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.

In a statement, the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) said Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim consented to the establishment of the seven-member RCI panel today.

The King also consented to the appointment of former Federal Court judge Zainun Ali as the panel’s deputy chairman.

The other members of the panel are former Universiti Malaya law faculty dean Johan Shamsuddin Sabaruddin, constitutional law and administrative law expert Faridah Jalil, legal expert Baljit Singh Sidhu, Johor state financial officer Ridha Kadir, and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency southern region director Dickson Dollah.

The legal affairs division at the PMD will serve as the panel’s secretariat while its director-general, Zamri Misman, has been appointed the panel’s secretary.

The Cabinet agreed to set up the RCI on Jan 24, with Chief Secretary to the Government Zuki Ali stating that the RCI’s members were expected to conduct the investigation “transparently, fairly and impartially to avoid any issues involving conflict of interest with relevant parties”.

In 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia and South Ledge to the state in the territorial waters in which it is located.

Malaysia applied to the ICJ requesting an interpretation of the judgment in 2017.

In 2018, the Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led administration withdrew an application to overturn the ICJ ruling awarding legal jurisdiction of Batu Puteh to Singapore.

Last year, a special task force set up to study the case found that Mahathir might have made a mistake in withdrawing the application.

At the time, then attorney-general Idrus Harun described the decision to withdraw the application as “not in order” and “improper”.

Responding to plans about the RCI last month, Singapore’s foreign ministry said it was an “internal matter” that would not affect bilateral ties with Malaysia. - FMT