Sept 23 hearing for govt to get more time to file defence over loss of Pulau Batu Puteh

[The_King]

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court will hear on Sept 23 the government’s application for an extension of time to file its defence in response to a suit filed by a man against Putrajaya for withdrawing a review application over the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision that Singapore has sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh.

Senior Federal Counsel Erma Wani Ahmad Keflee said the date was fixed after a virtual case management before deputy registrar Nor Afidah Idris today.

Lawyer Mohaji Selamat appeared for Mohd Hatta Sanuri, the plaintiff who filed the suit on May 28 and named the prime minister and government as defendants.

The government last week filed an application requesting the court to give it two months to submit its defence after receiving the writ and the statement of claim from Hatta’s lawyers.

In the statement, Hatta claimed that the government had not provided an explanation until today on why it withdrew the application despite fresh evidence that favoured Malaysia over the island, which is half the size of a football field.

“It is very unfair for the plaintiff to withdraw (the application) without reason or explanation, as if the issue is a trivial matter and can be forgotten like that,” Hatta said.

He is seeking, among others, for the defendants to give an explanation for the withdrawal and for a declaration that they had been negligent and violated the trust placed on them by citizens.

Hatta, who filed the suit through law firm Messrs Mohaji, Hazury & Ismail, wants the defendants to pay a minimum RM10 million compensation to each Malaysian for the loss of the island.

He also wants the defendants to list out the amount spent to prepare the review application, filed on Feb 3, 2017 until its withdrawal on June 1, 2018.

In February 2017, then attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, under the Najib Razak-led BN government, filed the review after the discovery of “new facts”.

Following the Pakatan Harapan coalition’s general election victory in May 2018, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who returned as prime minister, withdrew the application.

Pulau Batu Puteh, also known as Pedra Branca, is an island located 24 nautical miles to the east of Singapore and 7.7 nautical miles to the south of Johor.

In May 2008, the ICJ in the Hague, the Netherlands, in a 12-4 vote concluded that sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/09/13/sept-23-hearing-for-govt-to-get-more-time-to-file-defence-over-loss-of-pulau-batu-puteh