Petaling Jaya – According to three former ministers in the 2018 cabinet, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad acted unilaterally on the sovereignty issue of Batu Puti, Batuan Tengah and Tubirnan.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, former Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Sabu and then Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a joint statement that Dr Mahathir was killed in May 2018. On March 21, it was decided not to pursue Batu Puti’s claim in a written statement submitted to the Deputy Attorney General instead of submitting it to the Cabinet.
Mohamed currently serves as Agriculture and Food Security Minister, while Roque remains Transport Minister.
Also read: Dr Mahathir denies taking Batu Puteh decision as betrayal
“This matter was also (conveyed) to Singapore before the first cabinet meeting on May 23, 2018.
The Cabinet was informed of this decision two days after it was made and we… emphasize that we were only informed under “Other Matters”… (This is) not a discussion to make a decision,” the three said on Thursday (December 12).
Therefore, they said there was no question of supporting or rejecting the matter as the window of opportunity had been lost when Dr Mahathir made the written statement.
“We believe Mahathir should take full responsibility for this decision and not put the responsibility on the shoulders of people who were not involved.
They added: “We believe that (other) cabinet ministers who attended the meeting on May 23 will be able to (prove) this.”
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Mahathir said on Tuesday (December 10) that the decision not to pursue Batu Puti’s sovereignty claim was made with the full consent of the 2018 Cabinet.
He denied the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report that he was responsible for Malaysia’s loss of Batu Puteh to Singapore.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said after the RCI report was tabled in Parliament that an element of betrayal was found in the handling of sovereignty issues involving Batu Puti, Middle Rock and South Ledge.
