JOHOR BARU: Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has decreed that the special task force report on the Pulau Batu Puteh case is made available to the public.

       This comes as His Majesty received an interim report from the task force on the Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge case.

       Sultan Ibrahim, in a statement posted on his Facebook page, said that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar accompanied by task force chairman Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali presented the report during a briefing at Istana Polo here on Sunday (May 15).

       Also present was Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

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       Sultan Ibrahim reiterated that the special task force must make known to the public the real reason why the government under then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided to abandon the case in 2018.

       "This is a question of Johor's honour and sovereignty. The people of Johor have a right to know why the Pakatan Harapan government did not pursue the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)," His Majesty said.

       The Cabinet on Oct 29 last year had agreed to form the task force following the 2018 decision to drop an application seeking to review the Pulau Batu Puteh case in the ICJ.

       Sultan Ibrahim was reported as saying previously that not pursuing the case was as good as admitting defeat.

       His Majesty had said this was despite the discovery of new evidence supporting Malaysia's case, although the opportunity was lost when the government decided to drop the suit.

       ALSO READ: Report by Pulau Batu Puteh task force to be presented to Cabinet soon, says Wan Junaidi

       In April, Wan Junaidi said the report by the task force looking into the Pulau Batu Puteh case and legal aspects pertaining to it would be presented to the Cabinet soon.

       In October, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob ordered a special task force to be set up to review laws relating to the Pulau Batu Puteh case.

       The task force was given six months to complete its findings.

       It also aims to shed light on who was responsible for Malaysia losing its ownership of the island located some 7.7 nautical miles south of Johor.

       The Pakatan government withdrew an application which was to have been heard in June 2018 to overturn ICJ's ruling awarding legal jurisdiction of Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore in 2008.

       ALSO READ: Dr M defends decision to drop Pulau Batu Puteh review application

       Claims over Pulau Batu Puteh surfaced in 1979.

       Apart from the special task force, several sub-committees have been set up to look at the legality of the issue, including relationships between Malaysia and Singapore.

       The High Court had set June 21 to hear the application by the Malaysian Prime Minister and the government to strike out a suit filed by an individual in connection with the withdrawal of a review application over the ICJ's decision on the Pulau Batu Puteh claim.

       On May 28 last year, Mohd Hatta Sanuri, 46, filed the suit on his behalf and on behalf of more than 32 million Malaysians over the withdrawal of the review application, contending that the withdrawal was made without discussion and tabling in Parliament.