His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, has granted members of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) the opportunity to review the handling of cases involving the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge during an audience at Istana Negara. His Majesty also presented the members of the RCI with the instruments of their appointment, as seen on Sultan Ibrahim’s Facebook page.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said was also present during the audience, as reported by Bernama. Sultan Ibrahim had consented to the setting up of the RCI on Feb 14 and appointed seven members, including former chief justice Tun Md Raus Sharif as chairman and former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Zainun Ali as the deputy chairman.
The five other RCI members are Datuk Dr Baljit Singh Sidhu, Dr Johan Shamsuddin Sabaruddin, Datin Dr Faridah Jalil, Datuk Mohammed Ridha Abd Kadir, and Dickson Dollah. Sultan Ibrahim also consented to the appointment of Zamri Misman, the director-general of the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister’s Department, as the secretary of the RCI, while the division will act as the secretariat.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mentioned in October that the issue of Batu Puteh could be resolved with the direct involvement of the Attorneys General of Malaysia and Singapore. In December, Anwar urged then-Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun to hold talks with the Singapore government on the controversy concerning the claims over Batu Puteh. The directive called for Idrus to review and re-examine the issues surrounding Batu Puteh that had been awarded to Singapore by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) previously.
On May 23, 2008, the ICJ ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Batu Puteh while Malaysia had sovereignty over Middle Rocks, and that ownership of South Ledge would be determined based on the maritime boundaries of the country that controls it.
