Reveal who submitted doctored photo, gov't urged

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/246050 (By Aidila Razak 8/11/2013)

PARLIAMENT The government has been asked to reveal the identity of the officer who had submitted allegedly fabricated evidence in the Batu Puteh international territorial dispute.

Debating the 2014 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) said this is because it may have undermined Malaysia's case resulting in the loss of the Batu Puteh, a rocky outcrop off the Johor coast, to Singapore.

"Who was this person who submitted the doctored photo as evidence at the International Court of Justice?" he asked.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that former top cop Mat Zain Ibrahim had submitted a statutory declaration to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the bid to urge him to set up a royal commission of inquiry on the Batu Puteh fiasco.

Mat Zain said the Malaysian delegation to the ICJ led by attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail had submitted as evidence a controversial photograph that was retrieved from an anonymous blog.

Gov't to respond to MPs

The photograph showed Batu Puteh's proximity to Malaysia but Singapore's legal team challenged its authenticity.

Mat Zain described the submission of the "concocted" photograph as a form of deception that had severely hurt Malaysia's case.

The dispute over Batu Puteh began in 1980. Eventually, Malaysia and Singapore agreed to resolve the matter before the international court.

In May 2008, the court comprising 16 eminent judges ruled in Singapore's favour.

The government is expected to address queries raised by MPs during the Budget debate in the Dewan Rakyat next week.