00:00Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad acted unilaterally on the Batu Puteh, Middle
00:08Rocks and South Ledge sovereignty issue, according to three former ministers who were in the
00:13cabinet in 2018.
00:16In a joint statement on Thursday, former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Aziza, Wan
00:23Ismail, former Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu and then Transport Minister
00:30Anthony Locke said Dr Mahathir decided on May 21, 2018 not to pursue the claim for Batu
00:37Puteh in a written statement to the Solicitor General without referring to the cabinet.
00:43They added that the matter was also conveyed to Singapore before the first cabinet meeting
00:48on May 23, 2018.
00:51They also said the cabinet was only informed two days after the decision was made and stressed
00:56that it was not a discussion to make a decision.
00:59As such, they said the issue of supporting or rejecting the matter does not arise as
01:04the window of opportunity was lost when Dr Mahathir issued a written statement.
01:10The trio said they are of the opinion that Dr Mahathir should take full responsibility
01:14for the decision rather than place it on the shoulders of people who were not involved.
01:20They added that they are confident the other cabinet ministers at the meeting on May 23
01:25can attest to this.
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