'Mahathir risks arrest by refusing to attend Batu Puteh RCI'
Published on: Friday, February 23, 2024
By: FMT
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad does not intend to appear before the Batu Puteh Royal Commission of Inquiry if former chief justice Raus Sharif remains its chairman.
PETALING JAYA: A lawyer said Dr Mahathir Mohamad risks being served with a warrant of arrest if he ignores a summons to appear before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) set up to look into issues surrounding the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
SN Nair said Section 8 of the Commission of Enquiry Act 1950 stipulates that the commissioners are empowered to summon anyone to give evidence or produce documents in their possession.
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“They can issue a warrant of arrest to compel the attendance of any person,” Nair told FMT.
The lawyer, who has represented witnesses in two previous RCIs, believes the former two-time prime minister will be a key witness in any investigation over the matter.
Nair said this in response to a statement by Mahathir’s counsel, Rafique Rashid Ali, last week that the nonagenarian intends to stay away from the proceedings so long as former chief justice Raus Sharif remains the RCI chairman.
Rafique said Raus’s appointment is a gross violation of natural justice since he is an interested party.
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He said Mahathir had in 2017 filed a judicial review to challenge the legality of Raus’s appointment as an additional judge of the Federal Court after the retirement age set out in the Federal Constitution. The appointment would have seen him retain his position as chief justice until August 2020.
Mahathir was appointed prime minister for the second time on May 10, 2018, after Pakatan Harapan won federal power. He resigned from office in February 2020.
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Rafique said Raus had on May 15, 2018 met with Mahathir to express his intention to resign as chief justice. The judge then tendered his resignation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on June 7, 2018, which the King accepted four days later.
Rafique said it is common knowledge that the RCI has been convened to inquire into a decision made by Mahathir’s administration on May 31, 2018 to withdraw two applications for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to review a decision it made 10 years earlier.
Meanwhile, lawyer A Srimurugan said he was inclined to believe that Mahathir would be called to testify although the government has yet to reveal the RCI’s specific terms of reference.
“It is Mahathir and his Cabinet that decided in 2018 to withdraw an application to overturn the ICJ ruling awarding legal jurisdiction of Batu Puteh to Singapore,” he said.
In its defence to a civil suit filed by Hatta Sanuri over the withdrawal, Putrajaya said it abandoned the idea of seeking a review of Batu Puteh’s sovereignty after taking into consideration the views of foreign legal consultants on the matter.
According to the November 2021 court filing, Mahathir said the review was discontinued in the interest of the nation, particularly due to its cost implications.
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