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Reuters

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.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has previously called for a review of a 2018 decision by Malaysia – under the administration of then premier 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.
In a 2008 ruling, the ICJ awarded the Middle Rocks formation to Malaysia while nearby Pedra Branca, which Malaysia calls Pulau Batu Puteh, was given to Singapore.
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.
Why Malaysia is fighting Singapore over a rock
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.
The chain of rocky outcrops is located about 7.7 nautical miles (14km) off the coast of southern Malaysia and 24 nautical miles (44km) off the east coast of Singapore.
In its decision on Pedra Branca, the ICJ said although Malaysia’s ancient Sultanate of Johor had original ownership over the island, the government has failed to respond to the conduct of Singapore when the city state asserted its sovereignty over the tiny outcrop such as when it installed military communication equipment on it in 1977.
By the time the dispute emerged in the 1980s after Malaysia published a map claiming Pedra Branca belonged to it, “sovereignty … had passed to Singapore”, the ICJ said in its judgment.
‘Unprecedented’: Malaysia, Singapore to push ahead with special economic zone
The island is of strategic importance to Singapore which operates one of the world’s busiest ports because it is situated at the eastern entrance of the Straits of Singapore, which is joined to the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Kuala Lumpur maintained these documents showed that “officials at the highest levels in the British colonial and Singaporean administration appreciated that Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh did not form part of Singapore’s sovereign territory,” the ICJ said.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Kyodo


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

The Horsburgh lighthouse on Pedra Branca off the eastern coast of Singapore. File photo: EPA/SPH

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meet in Johor on Thursday. Photo: X/leehsienloong
 

Lee Hsien Loong and Anwar Ibrahim look on as Singapore’s trade and industry minister, Gan Kim Yong (centre, left), and Malaysia’s economy minister, Mohd Rafizi Ramli (centre, right), shake hands after a signing ceremony in Johor Bahru on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meeting in Johor on Thursday. Photo: X/leehsienloong  

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed reports of attempts to oust him, saying his government “will not be affected”. Photo: Reuters

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Wan Azizah during a pro-Palestinian rally in Kuala Lumpur on October 24, 2023. Anwar has been the most outspoken global leader on Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Photo: Bloomberg

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Malaysia’s opposition leader Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor in July 2023. Sanusi will face a sedition trial starting mid-January. Photo: Reuters

Why Malaysia is fighting Singapore over a rock

Pedra Branca may seem insignificant, but it could be key to stirring up nationalist fervour ahead of an election and realising a sultan’s long-held ambition

The Horsburgh lighthouse on Pedra Branca. Photo: EPA

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor. Photo: Internet

Singapore Navy small crafts at the scene of the collision between RSS Courageous and the freighter ANL Indonesia, near Pedra Branca, Singapore, 05 January, 2003. A second female Singaporean naval officer was confirmed dead and two others were still missing 48 hours after their ship collied with a merchant vessel 03 January. AFP PHOTO/aziz HUSSIN/The Straits Times SINGAPORE OUT / AFP PHOTO / THE STRAITS TIMES / AZIZ HUSSIN

(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 19, 2016 a protester holds a caricature poster depicting Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during a mass rally organised by Bersih 5.0 calling for his resignation in Kuala Lumpur. Rights groups condemned Malaysia's government on November 21, for a crackdown on organisers of a weekend anti-government rally, including the arrest of the protest leader under a tough law aimed at terrorism. / AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak. Is Kuala Lumpur’s latest bid to win control of Pedra Branca an attempt to stir up nationalist fervour ahead of a key general election? Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The government said a panel would be set up to carry out ‘a transparent, fair and equal investigation’
Malaysia has long sought to revive its claim on Pedra Branca, one of the islets, after the ICJ ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over the outcrop


The government said a panel would be set up to carry out ‘a transparent, fair and equal investigation’.


Singapore

Anwar Ibrahim

Mahathir Mohamad

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

The government said a panel would be set up to carry out ‘a transparent, fair and equal investigation’ Malaysia has long sought to revive its claim on Pedra Branca, one of the islets, after the ICJ ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over the outcrop

The government said a panel would be set up to carry out ‘a transparent, fair and equal investigation’

Malaysia has long sought to revive its claim on Pedra Branca, one of the islets, after the ICJ ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over the outcrop