Monday, 9 December 2024

Finance Twitter: Malaysia lost Pulau Batu Puteh but won rocks! What a laugh!

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Middle Rocks (above Pulau Batu Puteh). 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. — Reuters pic (For image info, go to https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/01/25/pedra-branca-middle-rocks-and-south-ledge-rci-an-internal-matter-of-malaysia-says-singapores-ministry-of-foreign-affairs/114557 

Finance Twitter: Malaysia lost Pulau Batu Puteh but won rocks! What a laugh!

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9, 2024: It was a slap on Malaysia’s face when the country lost its sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh (known as Pedra Branca) to Singapore after a 28-year territorial dispute.

Finance Twitter wrote: The International Court of Justice’s 12-4 decision in favor of Singapore is a total loss of land or territory but what made the whole thing amusing was that the then Malaysia Foreign Minister Rais Yatim actually had the cheek to declare it was a win-win situation.

And now the political blame game begins with Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister (PMX) Anwar Ibrahim calling for a probe against Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Dr M) for alleged treason under Section 415(b) - imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years.

And how old is the racist Dr M now? Born July 10, 1925 (99 years old).

No News Is Bad News reproduces below The Coverage posting of news clips on the issue:

News

Pulau Batu Puteh Treason – A Criminal Investigation Will Be Initiated Against Tun M Under Section 415(b)- Imprisonment For A Maximum Of 10 Years

9 December, 2024

 

I almost fell off my chair, not because I was extremely sad that Malaysia lost her island but from the extreme laugh, probably one of funniest episodes – the verdict of 28-year territorial dispute on a small island. The International Court of Justice’s 12-4 decision in favor of Singapore on Pulau Batu Puteh (known as Pedra Branca to Singapore) was actually a slap on Malaysia’s face, considering that the small island is merely 7.7 nautical miles from Malaysia but is a whopping 25.5 nautical miles from Singapore. The fact is Malaysia has just lost her sovereignty on Pedra Branca.

What made the whole thing amusing was that Malaysia Foreign Minister Rais Yatim actually has the cheek to declare it was a win-win situation. You meant you prefer some rocks over an island, never mind the dispute area consists of only 8,560 square meters? Whether you like it or not Pedra Branca is an island, thus the name “Pulau” Batu Puteh. No wonder Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was pleased with the verdict because Singapore won an island while Malaysia won some rocks. That’s right! Malaysia won Middle Rocks which loosely translated to rocks – that’s how the name Middle Rocks comes into the picture in the first place, no?

And why did Malaysia lost the island? There’re three reasons but the main and most important reason was a reply from a Johor state official saying that the state did not have sovereignty over the island. International Court of Justice case acting President Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, when delivering the court’s decision in The Hague yesterday, said Johor initially had sovereignty over the island but subsequently lost its ownership to Singapore because of above reasons. I’m speechless but I only can conclude that Malaysia deserve it because of laziness and stupidity. Too lazy to respond to Singapore’s conduct on the island and too stupid in sending a reply denying sovereignty which costs the island.

Malaysia did not only lose the island but also all natural resources and minerals in the territorial waters of Pedra Branca. But could the result be any difference if Malaysia engaged better lawyers. Singapore engaged two top international lawyers – Professor Alain Pellet of the University of Paris X-Naterre and Queen’s Counsel Ian Brownlie. On the other hand, the team from Malaysia comprising Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail and his son Federal Counsel Faezul Adzra Gani Patail had to resort to using a blog’s unverified photo of Pedra Branca (Right) to present their case to the judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The blog was said to be newly created and the jokes were that Malaysia was so complacent (arrogant?) and ill-prepared that they have to resort to present false evidence.

Maybe Malaysia government thought it could win the case easily since the top brain AG Abdul Gani Patail was leading the team. Furthermore how many lawyers in the world could make a public announcement that only three people and no others are involved in the murder case (Altantuya), even before the trial started? If this was not a show-case of top-brains I do not know what is *grin*. Perhaps Malaysia Attorney General should be confined to domestic case only such as to suppress oppositions or anyone who dare to question the government’s policy and nothing else. That was the AG’s specialization area so do what he was good at. What a bunch of arrogant “Jaguh Kampung” or Village Champions – simply unbelievable!

Source : Finance Twitter

Declassified Pulau Batu Puteh RCI suggests criminal charges for Dr Mahathir

A police report should be filed against former two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for alleged cheating, paving the way for legal action to be taken, a five-man royal panel tasked to investigate the circumstances leading to Malaysia’s loss of sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore in 2008 has recommended.

This recommendation follows the release of the 238-page declassified report put together by the Pulau Batu Puteh Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the official Parliament website today.

“A criminal investigation can be initiated against Tun Dr Mahathir for offences under Section 415(b) of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 417 of the same Code, as well as under Section 418 of the same Code.

“Therefore, it is suggested that a police report be lodged by the Commission Secretary to enable this investigation to commence,” the RCI report said.

The Pulau Batu Puteh RCI did not recommend filing a civil suit against the 99-year-old Dr Mahathir for misfeasance in public office due to the six-year limitation period for such actions.

It also declined to suggest that Malaysia submit a fresh request for interpretation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), despite the option being available.

The RCI’s final classified report was handed over to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim by its chairman, Tun Md Raus Sharif, on August 12 at Istana Negara.

The report stressed that the loss of sovereignty over Batu Puteh, as decided by the ICJ on May 23, 2008, should serve as a cautionary tale.

“It is also a lesson that a simple letter of inquiry from an external party, along with the written response provided, can at any time be used as evidence by outside parties to claim rights and sovereignty over the nation’s territory,” the RCI noted.

It also warned against careless and uninformed statements, emphasising that decisions involving national sovereignty must be made with care and in accordance with the law.

Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan announced the release of the declassified papers on his X account today, adding that the RCI report has been placed on the tables of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat this morning.

The Pulau Batu Puteh RCI members comprised former chief justice Tun Md Raus Sharif as chairman, historian Tan Sri Ismail Hussein, retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, law professor Datuk Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood, and Datuk D. Ramarajan who was a senior officer in the Malaysian civil service.

Source : Malay Mail

Section 415(b) of the Penal Code in Malaysia is an offense that involves intentionally deceiving someone to cause them to act or not act in a way that could harm another person. The punishment for this offense is imprisonment for a minimum of one year and a maximum of ten years, as well as whipping and a fine. 

This section of the Penal Code is related to cheating, which is defined as:

· Fraudulently or dishonestly inducing someone to deliver property or consent to another person retaining property

· Intentionally inducing someone to do or not do something that could cause harm to another person’s body, mind, reputation, or property 

 Mahathir Mohamad Committed Treason Out Of Spite For Najib

A dishonest concealment of facts is considered a deception under this section. However, a breach of contract is not by itself proof of fraudulent intent.

The claim that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad committed treason in relation to the Pulau Batu Puteh (Pedra Branca) issue is a highly charged political allegation. It is oftenly used partisan narratives in Malaysia’s political landscape. 

Pulau Batu Puteh is a small island situated at the eastern entrance of the Straits of Tebrau. In 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the island belonged to Singapore, while two nearby maritime features (Middle Rocks and South Ledge) had differing sovereignty allocations. 

Malaysia’s case was argued under the administration of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In 2017, during Najib Razak’s administration, Malaysia sought a review of the ICJ decision based on new evidence. 

Upon returning to power, Mahathir withdrew the application for review in 2018 without even attempting and looking at the work done by former Attorney General Tan Sri Apandi Ali. Mahathir claimed the legal advice was that the case had little chance of success. 

He argued pursuing the case further would have been futile and risked damaging Malaysia’s credibility. The government’s legal team reportedly advised against continuing the case because the “new evidence” was insufficient to overturn the ICJ’s earlier ruling.

Critics of Mahathir accused him of withdrawing the ICJ review out of spite against Najib Razak, who initiated the appeal. Mahathir’s supporters refused to acknowledge the necessity to defend sovereignty but argued Najib pursued the review for political gain.

Source : Thick Brick

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