Malaysia’s king on Wednesday (Feb 14) consented to the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to review the handling of the cases involving the sovereignty of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
The Prime Minister’s Department’s Legal Affairs Division director general Zamri Misman and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said were granted an audience and informed the king about the government’s proposal for the establishment of the RCI, reported Bernama news agency.
The department noted that the establishment of the RCI is in line with the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The king consented to Zamri serving as secretary of the RCI, with his department acting as the secretariat.
The king also consented to the appointment of seven other members.
They include former chief justice Md Raus Sharif as the chairman and former federal court judge Zainun Ali as the deputy chairman.
The five other RCI members are Dr Baljit Singh Sidhu, Prof Dr Johan Shamsuddin Sabaruddin, Prof Dr Faridah Jalil, Mohammed Ridha Abd Kadir and Dickson Dollah.
The RCI typically consists of ex-judges tasked to inquire and turn their findings into a report.
According to the Malaysian Bar, which regulates the legal profession, the RCI is a fact-finding body convened by the king on the advice of the Cabinet.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had previously called for a review of a 2018 decision by Malaysia – under the administration of then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad – to drop its application to revise an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Singapore had sovereignty over Pedra Branca, one of the islets.
In 2008, the ICJ ruled that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore while Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia. It also ruled that South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located.
Representatives of both governments, through a Joint Technical Committee, have continued to discuss the implementation of the judgment, including sovereignty over South Ledge.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Jan 25 in response to a query from CNA that the RCI is “an internal matter of Malaysia”.
“We do not see this affecting the good bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia,” an MFA spokesperson said then.
