PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has taken a swipe at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, criticising his attempts to involve other Cabinet ministers in the Batu Puteh case issue.
"His attempt to drag others into this issue is like a drowning person grasping at a piece of driftwood," he said.
Saifuddin, who is the current Home Minister, added that Dr Mahathir should instead refer to the sequence of events detailed in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report where the former prime minister had already issued a letter before a Cabinet meeting has taken place.
He also clarified that while he was the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry in 2018, he was only appointed after a decision on the matter was made.
"By the time I was appointed, the matter had already been decided, everything had already been done.
"Let's refer to the sequence of events as outlined in the RCI Report, which states that even before a Cabinet meeting was held, a letter had already been issued by Dr Mahathir,' he said.
Last Thursday, the RCI tasked with reviewing the handling of the Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge sovereignty case recommended that a criminal investigation be initiated against Dr Mahathir.
The RCI said Dr Mahathir withdrew the application to the ICJ for an interpretation of its ruling without consulting the cabinet in 2018.
On Tuesday, the two-time former prime minister has once again denied that the move to withdraw Malaysia's application to review the ICJ's ruling on Batu Puteh was a unilateral decision.
Maintaining that it was a collective decision, he said his cabinet members in the then-Pakatan Harapan administration were present when the review was tabled for discussion, but none of them commented on or objected to the move.
Earlier today, three former ministers in the 2018 Pakatan Harapan administration claimed that the decision was made unilaterally by Dr Mahathir without consulting the Cabinet at the time.
Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu and Anthony Loke, in a joint statement, claimed that Dr Mahathir made the decision on the matter in writing on May 21, 2018 to the solicitor-general.