Court Quashes Suit Over Ph S Failure To Act On Batu Puteh

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High Court judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz says the complainant has no legal standing to file the action and that all matters related to Batu Puteh are non-justiciable. (AFP pic)KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has quashed a man’s suit against the government over the sovereignty of Batu Puteh.
Judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz allowed the government’s bid to strike out Hatta Sanuri’s suit, ruling that he lacked legal standing to file the action.
The court also held that matters related to Batu Puteh are non-justiciable. It ordered Hatta to pay RM6,000 in cost.
Hatta, represented by lawyer Mohaji Selamat, will be appealing the court’s decision.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the government.
Hatta filed the suit last year, claiming he was affected by the former Pakatan Harapan government’s decision to withdraw an application to review the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) award of sovereignty over Batu Puteh to Singapore.
He said the government had not provided any explanation for withdrawing the review application, in light of new evidence that favoured Malaysia’s bid to overturn the ICJ’s decision.
He sought a court declaration for the government to pay RM10 million compensation to Malaysians over the decision.
In 2008, the ICJ decided that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia and South Ledge to the state in the territorial waters in which it is located.
In June 2017, Malaysia applied to the ICJ to request an interpretation of the judgment.
Last year, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had agreed to form a special task force to review the actions and legal issues regarding the three islands.
The task force, which is led by former attorney-general Apandi Ali, includes lawyers Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin and Abu Bakar As-Sidek Mohd Sidek, as well as representatives from Wisma Putra, Attorney-General’s Chambers, department of survey and mapping, and the Johor government.
It will submit its findings and recommendations to the Cabinet within six months. - FMT

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