10-12-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has strongly rebuffed accusations of betraying national interests, following recommendations from a royal commission for criminal investigations into his handling of territorial claims involving Singapore.
The 99-year-old statesman, speaking to journalists on Tuesday, defended his administration’s 2018 decision to withdraw Malaysia’s challenge to an International Court of Justice ruling regarding the sovereignty of Pedra Branca (Batu Putih), a strategic islet situated between the two nations.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry’s (RCI) damning report, released last week, called for criminal proceedings against Dr Mahathir over the withdrawal of both the Pedra Branca appeal and a related clarification request concerning another disputed islet. These applications had been initially lodged in 2017 but were abandoned after Dr Mahathir’s coalition assumed power.
“The decision was reached collectively by the Cabinet, guided by expert legal counsel,” Dr Mahathir maintained, questioning why his former Cabinet colleagues had neither been summoned to testify nor faced similar scrutiny. “If there were objections to the decision, they could have voiced them during Cabinet discussions. No one did.”
The inquiry, initiated under current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, has intensified the long-standing political rivalry between the two leaders. Dr Mahathir dismissed the investigation as politically motivated, characterising it as an orchestrated attempt to tarnish his legacy.
In a pointed response to PM Anwar’s allegations of treachery, Dr Mahathir remarked that such accusations would necessarily implicate Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Anwar’s wife, who served as his deputy premier during the period in question.
The controversy marks the latest chapter in Malaysian politics’ most enduring rivalry. Despite briefly collaborating to topple the Barisan Nasional government in 2018, their alliance proved short-lived, collapsing within two years amid internal discord.
PM Anwar, who assumed office in 2022 on an anti-corruption platform, has faced criticism for allegedly targeting political opponents—claims he consistently denies, maintaining his non-interference in judicial matters.
