KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government would leave it to the Attorney-General to determine the next course of action regarding the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge, released last week.
"It is clear that it (the matter) has been brought to the cabinet, and we leave it to the Attorney General to take further action," Zahid said after officiating the 14th Ketengah College convocation.
Previously, 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 former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
It said Dr Mahathir withdrew the application to review the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling on Batu Puteh without consulting the cabinet in 2018.
It was found that solicitor general Datuk Engku Nor Faizah Engku Atek, informed Singapore of Malaysia's intention not to proceed with both applications based on the former prime minister's letter dated May 21, 2018.
The RCI also discovered that, on May 23 that year, the High Commission of Singapore was informed of Dr Mahathir's intentions at 9am, before the cabinet meeting that week.
Dr Mahathir has denied that Malaysia's decision to withdraw its application to review the ICJ's ruling on Pulau Batu Puteh was unilateral.
On Thursday, Minister of the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said a motion to debate the RCI report in the Dewan Rakyat was not intended to prosecute any individual.
During the debate, several opposition members of parliament described the report as politically motivated.
Some also questioned the closed-door investigation and alleged that Dr Mahathir was not given a proper opportunity to defend himself.
Putrajaya filed an application on Feb 3, 2017, to review the ICJ's decision, handed down nine years earlier, to award Singapore sovereignty over Batu Puteh.
Yesterday, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the cabinet has decided to propose to the Attorney-General that the final report of the Batu Puteh Special Task Force be declassified.