PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today expressed his disappointment with three of his cabinet members from the 2018 Pakatan Harapan administration regarding the statement made on Batu Puteh.
The two-time prime minister said he felt embarrassed by the statements made by the three ministers and claimed that they had lied about the decision made on Batu Puteh being made unilaterally without consulting the cabinet.
"I feel ashamed because these people used to sit under me in my cabinet, yet now they are lying," he said when met by reporters after an event at the Perdana Leadership Foundation today.
Dr Mahathir said this in response to the statement made by Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu and Anthony Loke, who in a joint statement claimed that the former prime minister communicated the decision on Batu Puteh in writing to the solicitor-general on May 21, 2018.
The three members of Parliament also claimed that the decision to withdraw the application was made on the morning of May 23, 2018, before the first cabinet meeting took place.
Kota Baru member of Parliament Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, meanwhile, in the Dewan Rakyat last week said he had received a copy of the alleged minutes of a May 2018 cabinet meeting regarding the then government's decision on Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
At the same time, Dr Mahathir reiterated that the decision made on Batu Puteh was done in an orderly manner through the cabinet.
"I gave my opinion and no decision was ever made until it was presented to the cabinet. At the time, there were 13 people in the cabinet because we had just formed the cabinet.
"I believe that what I did was according to the rules. Yet still, they say that it was not the cabinet's decision and that it was mine.
"If I wanted to make a decision on my own, I would not just say it was my opinion, I would say that we had decided not to proceed with this case."
On Dec 5, the Royal Commission Inquiry (RCI) on Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge 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.
According to the RCI, Dr Mahathir could face criminal charges under Section 415(b) of the Penal Code, which could lead to penalties under Section 417 and Section 418 of the same code.
RCI chairman Tun Md Raus Sharif handed over the report to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, on Aug 12.
Following this, Dr Mahathir last week 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-PH administration were present when the review was tabled for discussion, but none of them commented on or objected to the move.