Dewan Rakyat denies motion to debate sovereignty of Batu Puteh

NST (27/5/08): The Dewan Rakyat today denied a motion by Salahuddin Ayub (Pas-Kubang Kerian) to debate the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh whose ownership was given to Singapore by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said the motion was denied as it was not urgent as Malaysia had already agreed to abide with the decision of the ICJ.

He said before denying the motion he had studied the matter and Salahuddin’s feelings reflected those of all members of the Dewan Rakyat. "So the decision (on Pulau Batu Puteh) should be taken as a lesson. We are also sad and the loss (in the ICJ) may be only on technicality.

"I am sorry I cannot entertain the motion raised. I have considered carefully. Is it not enough with the word ’lesson’, Honourable Member (referring to Salahuddin)?,” he said.

Salahuddin then stood up and referred to Standing Order 18(3)(b) that stated that 15 members could stand and support the motion if the Speaker did not accept it. At that point, all the opposition members in the House stood up to support the motion.

However, Pandikar said the rule did not matter as he had already rejected the motion.

"There are times I am satisfied like the rice issue. If there is a chance, ask when the minister concerned is replying during winding up,” Pandikar said.

Motion to debate Batu Puteh shot down

Malaysiakini (28/5/08): Saying that the ICJ had already delivered its ruling, Pandikar said there was no need for a debate.

Salahudin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian), who had raised the matter, cited Standing Order 18(3)(b) which allows for a debate to be held if it is supported by 15 other parliamentarians.

"I'm begging in the name of the people for this to be discussed and to put on record why Malaysia lost. Our reputation, national security and sovereignty are at stake," he said.

The Speaker remain steadfast and said that the country can only learn a lesson from this.

"I thought about the ramifications before I made my decision (to reject the motion). The reality is that we cannot question the ICJ's decision. We can only learn a lesson from this," he said. (Full report)

Motion to debate Batu Putih rejected

The Star (27/5/08): Opposition MPs stood in support of a motion moved by Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday to debate the loss of Batu Putih to Singapore.

Salahuddin had sought permission for the House to discuss the weaknesses of the Malaysian legal team in handling the case and the consequences to other overlapping claims by Malaysia and other outstanding issues with Singapore.

His motion was rejected by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, saying that Malaysia had accepted the results on the island brought on by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

However, Salahuddin, who used Rule 18 (3) (b) of the Standing Orders, protested against the ruling and all Opposition MPs stood up to support his call on Pandikar Amin to change his stand.

Pandikar Amin told Salahuddin that he had thought hard about the motion before reaching his decision.

"Everyone should agree that all of us should take a leaf (ambil iktibar) from the case.

"We should show our maturity in these kinds of situations.

"There's no need to debate this for over one hour or two hours and reach the same conclusion," Pandikar Amin added.

Debate diverted to loss of island

The Star (27/5/08): Debate on a motion to re-distribute allocation from two defunct departments got sidetracked after both backbenchers and the Opposition voiced their dissatisfaction over the outcome of the Batu Puteh case.

Leading the pack was Dr Puad Zarkashi (BN – Batu Pahat), who decried the lack of proper documentation on the part of the Government leading to the loss of the island to Singapore.

“We must make sure that each department under the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry receives fair attention.

“For instance, on the question of heritage, it is our failure to keep proper historical documents that has led us to lose Pulau Batu Puteh. It’s such an important task but we neglected to do so.

“We have to set up a historical documentation centre so this does not happen again,” he said.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice decided that Singapore had ownership of Pulau Batu Puteh while Malaysia had sovereignty over Middle Rocks which lies to the south.

Ambassador-at-large Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad had voiced his frustration over his failure to find a letter said to be from the British governor in Butterworth to the Johor Temenggong seeking permission to build the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the island.

Dr Puad said as a Johorean, he felt very disappointed by the decision, urging the Government not to continue “bowing” to Singapore’s pressure over certain unresolved issues such as the Central Provident Fund contributions, the use of air space and water treaties.

Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR – Permatang Pauh) said the Government should be careful of referring overlapping territorial claims to the ICJ.

“The decision is most often not based on justice but on the current world political climate. Let this be a lesson to us,” she said.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS – Pokok Sena) said the Attorney-General’s chambers should have done its research properly before laying their case before the ICJ.

“How can this be a win-win situation for us? How does this guarantee the safety of our fishermen?” he said.

Hamim Samuri (BN – Ledang) said the Government should be more wary of Singapore’s actions in the future.

In his reply, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the Government had indeed learnt its lesson from the Pulau Batu Puteh incident and had started monitoring activities on islands in its waters.

“The National Archives Department has also set up a special unit to collect our historical documents. However, it depends on government agencies to provide it with these documents,” he pointed out.

The motion, which was to re-disburse a total of RM1.12bil allocation meant for the defunct Internal Security Ministry and the Unity Department under the Prime Minister’s Department, was passed.

Island lost because of weak team, says PAS

The Star (27/5/08): PAS has expressed dissatisfaction with the “weak” arguments of the Malaysian lawyers over the claim of Batu Puteh at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Its vice-president Nasharuddin Mat Isa said the weak arguments had resulted in Malaysia’s sovereignty of the island being taken over by Singapore.

“There was a lack of evidence to prop up our claims. Singapore, being awarded the island, will certainly bring a lot of hardship for our fishermen in Johor waters.

“We had a weak team of lawyers to fight our case,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

PAS, he added, would be explaining this issue to its members and rakyat all over the country.

Nasharuddin said PAS Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub would attempt to table an emergency motion under 18(1) of the Parliament Standing Orders on the issue.

On another matter, Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan urged the Government to move into another island, where Singapore still maintains a lighthouse, and develop it.

This, he added was to avoid “banana trees from fruiting twice” as Singapore could move to stake a claim to Pulau Pisang, located some 5km from the coast of Pontian, Johor.

“Why should Singapore be allowed to keep the lighthouse there? Wisma Putra told me that under the present agreement, Singapore is allowed to maintain the lighthouse as long as it is still being used and for as long as there are stars and moon.

“But in this day and age, no ship uses a lighthouse and all of them now rely on global positioning system and radar to guide them. So what’s the use of the lighthouse?” he said.

MPs see nothing positive about ICJ ruling

Malaysian Insider (26/5/08): There was no support in Parliament today for the official position that the decision by the International Court of Justice on Pulau Batu Puteh was a win-win for Singapore and Malaysia. Instead, it was a day of regret, recrimination and some republic-bashing.

As expected, the MPs from Johor had much to say about the loss of the outcrop of rocks to Singapore. Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi cut through all the fluff and said that sovereignty fell to the republic as a result of Malaysia failing to keep a proper record of its historical documents.

He noted that the government could not locate a letter from the British seeking permission from the Johor government to build a lighthouse on the island. The letter was a piece of "valuable evidence" which could have swung the case in Malaysia's favour.

"As a Johorean I am disappointed. We lost simple as that. I don't believe in the win-win situation as claimed by the government. This is the end result of not placing a premium on historical documents," he declared.

To remedy this situation, Puad called on the government to create a centre to cater specifically for the storage and documentation of important national documents.

Hamim Samuri (BN-Ledang) said that the loss of Batu Puteh should make Malaysia more vigilant. "We must watch Singapore's activities on our territory. We have to monitor Pulau Merambung which is near Tuas in Singapore," he said, adding that the government had to ensure that Pulau Pisang remains in Malaysian hands.

"The Singaporeans fly their flag on the lighthouse there. It gives the impression that they have sovereignty over the island. We must ensure the island does not go the way of Batu Puteh," he said.

Parti Islam SeMalaysia are going to table a motion tomorrow to debate the ICJ decision and party firebrand Mahfuz Omar gave an indication of its plan of attack.

He blamed Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail for the loss of Batu Puteh to Singapore. "The way I see it, the attorney-general has failed in giving sound advice to the government," he said.

Since Friday, the Opposition including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim have tapped into the rich vein of dissatisfaction against Gani and blamed him for the poor handling of the case. The AG has also come under attack for the dismal track record of his prosecutors in major criminal cases.

Independent MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Ind) said that the government had to be wary of Singapore, and expanded the scope of concern beyond the ICJ decision.

Singaporeans had a water treatment plant in Gunung Pulai which was run by the republic. "No one can go near Gunung Pulai. I have been made to understand that the the plant is big and if it was to burst half of Johor will be submerged in a flood," he said.

PAS unhappy with 'weak' arguments in Batu Putih case

The Star (26/5/08): PAS has voiced its dissatisfaction with the “weak” arguments forwarded by the Malaysian lawyers involved over the claim of Batu Putih in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Its vice-president Nasharuddin Mat Isa said the weak arguments had resulted in Malaysia’s sovereignty over the island being taken over by Singapore.

“There was a lack of evidence to prop up our claims. Singapore being awarded the island will certainly bring a lot of hardship for our fishermen in Johor waters.

“We had a weak team of lawyers to fight our case,” he told reporters Monday in the Parliament lobby here.

PAS, he added, would be explaining this issue to its members and rakyat all over the country.

Nasharuddin also said PAS youth chief Salahuddin Ayub would be tabling an attempt under 18(1) of the Parliament Standing Orders for an emergency motion on the issue.

On another matter, Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan urged the Government to move into another island, where Singapore still maintains a lighthouse, and develop it.

This was, he added to avoid “banana trees from fruiting twice” as Singapore could move to stake a claim on Pulau Pisang, located some 5km from the coast of Pontian, Johor.

“Why should Singapore be allowed to keep the lighthouse there? Wisma Putra told me that under the present agreement, Singapore is allowed to maintain the lighthouse as long as it is still being used and for as long as there are stars and a moon.

“But in this day and age, no ship uses a lighthouse and all of them now rely on global positioning system and radar to guide them. So what’s the use of the lighthouse?” he said.

The Government, Ahmad added, should develop the island into a tourist and recreation area.

“In fact, I have proposed for the island to be included into a national park nearby,” he said, adding that besides the lighthouse, Pulau Pisang - comprising four smaller islands - now housed some fruit orchards and two small houses.