PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today denied making his own decision over the Batu Puteh issue.
Dr Mahathir said he only gave his opinion not to proceed with the application of an interpretation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment to award Batu Puteh's sovereignty to Singapore.
"Accusing me of making my own decision is nonsense. I followed the progress of the findings of ICJ and sought views from experts and legal experts.
"We have a very weak case and we don't have the bullet to win (the case).
"Although as the then prime minister, I had the power, I chose not to decide on my own.
"I merely gave my opinion, not a decision, an order or a directive. My opinion was we should not ahead with the move.
"Instead it was decided by the cabinet and we had to give our decision to ICJ on June 8, 2018," he told a press conference today.
Dr Mahathir said the cabinet did not oppose or reject the idea that Malaysia should not go ahead with its appeal.
"So that was the final decision was made by the cabinet, not by myself alone," he said, adding many present ministers were ministers in his cabinet back then.
In April, Minister of the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said claimed the prime minister, who made a decision "in secret", was responsible for Malaysia's loss in the Batu Puteh case.
She told the Senate that the prime minister at the time had decided on his own, without even consulting the attorney-general who was then on leave.
Meanwhile, in a statement by former attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali who said Dr Mahathir erred in not seeking his advice on the matter, the former prime minister said; "He (Apandi) cannot be trusted. Hence, he was given the garden leave."
On April 3, Apandi said Dr Mahathir should have asked for his advice as he was the AG and not his subordinates at AGC.
Other than Azalina and Apandi, in 2022, then-prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said there was possible negligence and oversight on Dr Mahathir's part in the Batu Puteh issue.
In 2008, the ICJ decided that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia and South Ledge to the island state in the territorial waters in which it is located.
In June 2017, Malaysia applied to the ICJ to request an interpretation of the judgment, but the application was withdrawn in 2018.
Asked if he would sue Azalina, Apandi and Ismail Sabri over their statement, Dr Mahathir replied; "I will think about it. (Because) if you sue, it will take 10 years for the result and by that time I'll be somewhere else."
This morning, Dr Mahathir testified before a seven-member panel at the RCI proceedings regarding the issues surrounding the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
He arrived at the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department here at 10.46am and was seen leaving nearly two hours later.
Dr Mahathir had previously confirmed that he was subpoenaed to testify before the RCI regarding the sovereignty issues.