KL's claim at odds with its actions, Jaya argues

He stresses to ICJ Malaysia's lack of reliable evidence over Pedra Branca


The Straits Times, November 10, 2007
By Lydia Lim, Senior Political Correspondent


THE HAGUE (NETHERLANDS) - DEPUTY Prime Minister S. Jayakumar yesterday summed up Singapore's case on Pedra Branca before an international court by driving home the strength of the Republic's claim to the island.

Singapore's ownership was based on lawful possession and an open, continuous and effective display of state control since 1847, he said.

By contrast, Malaysia's record was of 130 years of silence, failure to assert sovereignty and admissions of Singapore's ownership.

Then in 1979, it suddenly sprang a claim to the island through the publication of a map, a move which Prof Jayakumar described thus - 'to say the least, extraordinary'.

Singapore and Malaysia are appearing before the International Court of Justice to resolve their dispute over the sovereignty of Pedra Branca, an island 40km east of Singapore and at the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait.

In a forceful speech wrapping up the Republic's first round of oral pleadings, Prof Jayakumar, who is also Law Minister, went through the key arguments that Singapore's legal team had presented to the court in 12 speeches over four days this week.

He began by rebutting Malaysia's claim that Johor had a title to Pedra Branca from time immemorial.

Malaysia 'has not produced even one iota of evidence' to prove it, he said.

It had depended mainly on a sole newspaper article that Singapore's lawyers had shown to be unreliable.

'The original title is but a mirage conjured up by Malaysia and it continues to be a mirage,' he said.

He also described as 'inexplicable' Malaysia's 130-year silence in the face of Singapore's exercise of sovereign authority on Pedra Branca.

Malaysia, he said, had tried to explain that away by claiming it had given Singapore permission to operate a lighthouse there, but again produced no evidence.

He then turned to another crucial piece of evidence: a letter dated Sept 21, 1953, in which Johor's top official informed the British authorities in Singapore that 'the Johor government does not claim ownership of Pedra Branca'.

The existence of such a document 'clearly embarrassed' Malaysia, he said.

It was at the very least 'clear, incontrovertible evidence that Johor never had title to Pedra Branca'.

More than that, the letter was also a 'disclaimer of title' by the Johor government, he argued, and thus a declaration that Johor would not assert any future claim on Pedra Branca.

'It is binding on Malaysia,' he said.

Prof Jayakumar, who donned a black lawyer's robe for his speech before the court's 16 judges, then turned to Malaysia's attempts to paint as peripheral Singapore's official activities on Pedra Branca.

Malaysia claimed the acts showed only that Singapore operated the lighthouse there, not that it was its rightful sovereign.

Calling the argument 'erroneous', Prof Jayakumar recapped the list of activities that extended beyond the running of a lighthouse. They included regular naval patrols, control of access to the island and regular visits by Singapore's civil and military officials.

They represented 'more than 150 years of continuous, open and effective display of State authority', he said.

He contrasted this to Malaysia's total lack of activity in relation to the island, as well as its documented admissions that the island belonged to Singapore. These include six maps published by the Malaysian government between 1962 and 1975.

As Singapore drew its arguments to a close yesterday, the final impression that Prof Jayakumar sought to leave in the judges' minds was that Malaysia's claim in 1979 emerged out of the blue, and was totally at odds with its actions over the previous 130 years.

In 1979, it published a map that placed Pedra Branca in its territorial waters for the first time.

Prof Jayakumar said: 'This came after 130 years of silence; after 130 years of failure to assert Malaysian sovereignty; after 130 years of conduct and admissions against its own interest, including an express and unequivocal acknowledgement of Singapore's title.'

Malaysia will make its case from Tuesday to Friday next week. Looking ahead, Prof Jayakumar said: 'We have to be alert and agile to any surprises that may arise when Malaysia presents its case next week.