PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has decided to propose to the Attorney-General that the final report of the Batu Puteh Special Task Force be declassified.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the report highlighted negligence by public officials, in line with the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry
He added that the final report was presented to the Cabinet on Oct 7, 2022.
He said the declassification of the documents would be comprehensive, except for matters related to diplomacy, national security, and defence issues.
"In today's (Dec 13) Cabinet meeting, it was revealed that the findings of the Special Task Force align with the recommendations in the RCI Batu Puteh report. Both documents arrived at similar conclusions, with the task force recommending prosecution for misfeasance or dereliction of duty by a public officer," he said during a post-Cabinet meeting press conference here today.
Yesterday (Dec 12), the RCI report on the Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge investigation was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat following a week of disclosures.
The report, tabled by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, will be debated by 10 members of parliament from both blocs, including the members of parliament for Kota Baru (Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan), Larut (Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin), and Putrajaya (Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin).
Fahmi added that the task force report originated during the administration of the 9th Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, during which the three were part of the Cabinet.
He said it is puzzling that the three members of parliament act as though the recommendations in the RCI report are vastly different from the task force report they themselves reviewed when they were in the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Fahmi also reiterated that the RCI is intended to prevent a recurrence of past mismanagement.
He said the move is not driven by revenge or an attempt to label any individual as being pro-Singapore.
"The RCI report on Batu Puteh, which was debated yesterday in the Dewan Rakyat, reflects the spirit and purpose of presenting the report for discussion. Similar to other reports, such as the Auditor General's Report or Human Rights Commissioner reports, once tabled, members of parliament are given the opportunity to debate them.
"We aim to avoid repeating past mistakes or mismanagement. That is our intention - not to act out of revenge or to paint anyone in a certain light, especially when both reports recommend the same thing: misfeasance.
"To me, this is not an issue of ultra-nationalism or revenge. Instead, it concerns the dereliction of duty by someone who should have been held accountable," he said.
Yesterday (Dec 12), Muar member of parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said it is inconceivable that the "ultranationalist" and "ultra Malay" Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would have decided to cede Batu Puteh to Singapore.
He questioned the report, particularly that Mahathir unilaterally decided to drop two legal applications on the matter, saying it made the former prime minister appear pro-Singapore.
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 International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling on Pulau Batu Puteh was a unilateral decision.