KL says it has good case against Singapore

Malaysian Foreign Minister arrives in The Hague to show support on eve of KL's 4-day oral pleading

The Straits Times, November 13, 2007
By Lydia Lim, Senior Political Correspondent





IN THE HAGUE (NETHERLANDS) - MALAYSIAN Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar arrived here last night to show support for Kuala Lumpur's legal team in the Pedra Branca hearing.Today, Malaysia launches four days of oral pleadings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

It follows Singapore's presentation, also over four days last week.

On the eve of Malaysia's big day yesterday, Malaysia's Ambassador to the Netherlands, Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin, said the team's preparations were going well.

'We are very well prepared to respond to all the arguments and points made by the Singapore team,' she told The Straits Times via e-mail.

'We are confident that we have a good case. The Malaysian public can rest assured that every relevant point raised by Singapore will receive a satisfactory response from the Malaysian team,' she said.

About 60 officials from the Malaysian Foreign Ministry and Attorney-General's Chambers have been here since last week.

The Malaysian delegation is about twice as large as Singapore's, which is led by Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar.

Singapore and Malaysia have asked the ICJ to decide which has sovereignty over Pedra Branca, an island at the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait.

Malaysia's first speaker today will be Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister and its Agent for the case. Each State appoints an agent to communicate with the ICJ and receive court instructions on its behalf.

As Singapore's Agent, Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh did in his opening speech last week, Tan Sri Abdul Kadir will likely lay out the broad framework of Malaysia's case.