THE Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Batu Puteh has recommended that a police report be filed against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for cheating.
In the RCI report - which was declassified in Parliament today it recommended that its secretary file a report against Dr Mahathir to make way for a criminal investigation.
"Therefore, it is proposed that a police report be made by the secretary of the commission to enable this investigation to commence."
It accused Dr Mahathir of deceiving the cabinet in 2018 into withdrawing Malaysia's review of the International Court of Justice’s decision to award sovereignty over Batu Puteh to Singapore.
The Pulau Batu Puteh RCI did not recommend filing a civil suit against the 99-year-old Dr Mahathir for misfeasance in public office due to the six-year limitation period for such actions.
The RCI’s final classified report was handed over to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim by its chairman, Tun Md Raus Sharif, on August 12 at Istana Negara.
The issue stems from a decision made by the government in 2018 to withdraw Malaysia's application to review the International Court of Justice's decision on the sovereignty of Batu Puteh.
At the time, the government was led by Dr Mahathir.
The report stressed that the loss of sovereignty over Batu Puteh, as decided by the ICJ on May 23, 2008, should serve as a cautionary tale.
In 2008, the ICJ ruled that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore while Middle Rocks was awarded to Malaysia.
It also ruled that the ownership of South Ledge would be determined based on the delimitation of territorial waters.
Malaysia applied to review ICJ's ruling in 2017 but it was then withdrawn in May 2018.
The RCI report said that Malaysia could refile the new interpretation application at any appropriate time.
