Pulau Batu Putih

Congratulations to the AG Chambers for helping Malaysia win sovereignty over the Middle Rocks (bukan Middle Earth) albeit the fact that the rocks can only be visible during low tide and a heartfelt condolence to Malaysia for the loss of Pulau Batu Putih to Singapore.

 

At least we won something right? Boleh la… Malaysia kan boleh!

 

Some critics claim that we lost Pulau Batu Putih due to our weak legal argument on this issue. It is said that Malaysia relied on historical argument unlike Singapore who relied on concrete legal documents. (Read Anwar Ibrahim’s comment here)

 

Let me illustrate:

 

Argument #1: “Yang Arif, tanah tersebut adalah hak saya oleh kerana datuk saya kata tanah itu moyang saya yang punya”

 

Argument #2: “Yang Arif, Tanah tersebut adalah hak saya dan tuntutan saya ini boleh dibuktikan dengan dokumen-dokumen yang berikut…”

 

So which one of the above is the better argument to be brought before a court of law? You decide.

 

By the way, my friend Ikmal wrote a good legal comment on this issue. (Read it here)

 

           Location of Pulau Batu Putih a.k.a Pedra Branca via Google Earth

Visit this link to see more pictures of what we had won.