KL Abandons Pedra Branca Case Ahead of ICJ Hearings

The Straits Times

31 May 2018

Malaysia has withdrawn its application to revise a 2008 judgment on Pedra Branca, relinquishing for good its right to challenge the ruling that awarded sovereignty of the island to Singapore.

It will also discontinue a separate application for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to interpret that same judgment issued on May 23, 2008.

Mr Yang Razali Kassim, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad might have been briefed by his officials about the pros and cons of pursuing the applications, and concluded it could be tough for KL to succeed. Tun Dr Mahathir might have also concluded that the whole pursuit at ICJ would be a distraction from his top priority of reducing the national debt and finances.

“Besides, engaging international lawyers to fight such a high-profile case would be an expensive business. So, in the end, it could be a matter of Dr Mahathir trying to cut his losses,” he said.

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