Rci Report On Batu Puteh Contained Numerous Errors Says Dr M

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The royal commission of inquiry’s report on the handling of the Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge issue had recommended a criminal probe on ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. (AFP pic)
PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has disputed the report by the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on the handling of the Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge issue, saying it misreported “a lot”.
Mahathir said he had perused the declassified report and found that much of the information contained within was wrong.
“There are many things that have been said during the RCI proceedings that the public is not allowed to know,” he told a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here.
Mahathir, however, did not go into detail about the purported errors.
“Yet, they (the commission) talk about the RCI as being an open process where people can listen and follow what is happening.”
The RCI’s report on its findings was released on the Parliament website last Thursday, although many of its recommendations were redacted.
Among the unredacted recommendations was that the RCI’s secretary file a police report against Mahathir to make way for a criminal investigation under Sections 415 and 418 of the Penal Code for cheating.
The report also said Mahathir had likely acted deliberately to influence the Cabinet to discontinue the applications to review and interpret the International Court of Justice’s 2008 decision on Batu Puteh and South Ledge.
Mahathir has since reiterated his denial that he had made a unilateral decision on the matter.
He said that the likes of former deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, former finance minister Lim Guan Eng and former home minister Muhyiddin Yassin had been present among others during the Cabinet meeting where the issue was raised.
He said they could have spoken up if they were against the idea not to proceed with the applications, “but no one said anything”.
Wan Azizah, Loke Siew Fook and Mohamad Sabu said they were only informed of Mahathir’s decision not to proceed with the applications and had no opportunity to state their stance.
The nonagenarian hit back at the trio, questioning whether informing others on an issue meant it could not be debated and if they needed to be told explicitly to state their opinions. - FMT

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