THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared that sovereignty over Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia while Singapore has the right to govern P

The court said that sovereignty over South Ledge would belong to the "state in the territorial waters of which it is located".

It said the ICJ was constituted to determine sovereignty and not the maritime boundary.

There was hardly any reaction from both camps after ICJ vice-president Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh completed reading the majority judgment that took almost two hours.

It was a 12-4 ruling to declare that PBP belonged to Singapore, 15-1 to award Middle Rocks to Malaysia and 15-1 that sovereignty over South Ledge belonged to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located.


The decision is final and is not appealable.

Tracing historical events prior to 1953, the court said it was clear that the Johor Sultanate had sovereignty over the island, almost the size of a football field, from time immemorial.

It said the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 determined the sphere of influence between Britain and The Netherlands.

The court said the Johor empire was divided into two: new Johor empire and the Riau-Lingga Sultanate.

"Historical facts, however, point that PBP belonged to Johor," the judgment said.

The court noted that Britain and, subsequently, Singapore conducted activities on the island.

It said the Colonial secretary of Singapore had written a letter dated June 12, 1953 to the British Adviser to the Johor Sultan, asking information about PBP.

"In a letter dated Sept 21, 1953, the acting State Secretary of Johor replied that the Johor government did not claim ownership of the island," it said.

The court said it considered the correspondence and found that Johor's reply showed that as of 1953, the state understood that it did not have sovereignty over PBP.

"That letter of denial was binding as it was an undertaking from Johor that she would not claim ownership of the island," it said.

The court also noted that even after 1953, Malaysia did not undertake any activities compared with Singapore.

It also did not protest when Singapore installed military communication equipment in 1977 and proposed reclamation plans to extend the island.

"The court concluded that the conduct of Singapore and its predecessor and the failure by Malaysia to respond, showed that by 1980 sovereignty over PBP had passed to the island republic.

" Malaysia and Singapore made oral submissions before the 16-member bench last November.

The Malaysian legal team was led by Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad, former ambassador to The Netherlands Datuk Noor Faridah Ariffin, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, Professor James Crawford, Prof Nicolaas Jan Schrijver, Professor Marcelo G Cohen and Penelope Nevill.

The dispute began when Singapore lodged a protest note in 1980 after Malaysia published a continental shelf map the previous year, showing the island as part of her territory.

In 1993, Singapore expanded her claim by including Little Rocks and South Ledge as part of its territorial waters.

The then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir and his counterpart agreed to refer the dispute to the ICJ in 1994 after failing to resolve it through bilateral means.

-(NST Online)-

ICJ To Decide On 23rd May 2008 Over Sovereignty Of Pulau Batu Puteh

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 (Bernama) -- Six months after the end of the hearing of oral submissions over the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to decide which country - Malaysia or Singapore -- should have sovereignty over the disputed island and the two marine features.

The ICJ, which is based at The Hague in the Netherlands, will give its verdict on May 23, bringing to a close a 28-year-old territorial dispute over the island and the two features.

The court heard lengthy submissions from both countries from Nov 6 to 23 last year.

Malaysia and Singapore had pledged to abide by the decision of the ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, whose decision is final and not subject to appeal.

Both the Malaysian foreign minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, and his Singapore counterpart, George Yeo, had said the outcome of the case would not strain ties between the two neighbours.

The dispute was brought to the ICJ after the two countries signed a special agreement in February 2003 requesting the court to rule over the dispute which had started in February 1980 when Singapore protested against a Malaysian map of its boundaries published in 1979 which showed Pulau Batu Puteh as belonging to Malaysia.

Singapores protest led to an exchange of correspondence and subsequently a series of inter-governmental talks in 1993 and 1994 at which the respective positions of the two countries were developed, but without any conclusion.

Subsequently, it was agreed that the dispute on Pulau Batu Puteh, the size of a football field which lies 7.7 nautical miles (nm) from the Malaysian mainland but 25.5nm over the sea from Singapore, and the two marine features should be decided by the ICJ.

During the proceedings Malaysia and Singapore had argued their cases backed by voluminous documents and eloquent submissions presented by each country which included international lawyers.

Singapore argued before the 16-member panel of judges that Pulau Batu Puteh was terra nullius (No Mans Land) when Britain took possession of it from 1847 to 1851.

The island republic contended that it had conducted various activities there for over 150 years to show that it had exercised sovereignty powers on Pulau Batu Puteh, which it calls Pedra Branca (White Rock in Portuguese) while Malaysia had not done so.

Malaysia brushed aside Singapores claim that the island was terra nullius, saying that the claim was flawed.

It stressed that Johor had the original title to the island and the two marine features since time immemorial and that Britain was merely given permission by the Johor Sultanate to build the Horsburgh lighthouse on the island.

Singapore was merely the administrator of the lighthouse built on Pulau Batu Puteh and activities that have taken place there were just acts required of a lighthouse administrator, Malaysia argued.

Britains activities in relation to the Horsburgh lighthouse and the island after 1851 were purely operational and did not reflect any intention to acquire sovereignty over the island, the Malaysian team said.

It said that Singapores activities in respect of the lighthouse did not amount to a conduct of sovereignty as claimed by the republic.

Malaysias international lawyer Sir Elihu Lauterpacht pointed out to the court that once it was established that Pulau Batu Puteh was not terra nullius in 1847, then it must have been regarded as subject to Johors sovereignty and that would be the end of Singapore's case.

This was because Singapore itself had declared that it rested its case upon the basis that it acquired the title to Pulau Batu Puteh by taking possession of the island as a terra nullius, he had submitted.

The Malaysian team was led by Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad, the Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, who was also the countrys agent for the case, while Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin, the Malaysian ambassador to the Netherlands, was the co-agent.

Others were Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Malaysias team of international lawyers.

They were, Sir Elihu and James Crawford, both professors in International Law at the Cambridge University; Nicolaas Jan Schrijver, professor of Public International Law, Leiden University; Marcelo G. Kohen, professor of International Law, the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva; and Penelope Nevill, college lecturer, Downing College, Cambridge University.

Singapores team was led by Tommy Koh Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was the republics agent for the case.

Also part of the team were its Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin and the countrys team of international lawyers.

The ICJs verdict will be delivered by the Vice-President of the Court, Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, who was the Acting President in the case.

The 16 judges included two ad hoc judges appointed by Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia appointed Christopher S.R. Dugard of South Africa and Singapore, Pemmaraju Sreenivasa Rao of India.

-- BERNAMA

Malaysia New Cabinet Minister for 2008-2012

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday afternoon announced the 27-seat Cabinet line-up.

More than half of the ministers are new faces.

The full list:

Prime Minister:
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Deputy Prime Minister:
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department:
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok,
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz,
Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim,
Datuk Amirsham Abdul Aziz

Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department:
Datuk Johari Baharom,
Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim,
Datuk K. Devamany,
Datuk Hassan Malik

Finance Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
Second Finance Minister - Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop
Deputies - Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah &
Datuk Kong Cho Ha

Defense Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Deputy - Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop

Internal Security and Home Affairs Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
Deputies - Datuk Chor Chee Heong &
Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh

Housing and Local Government Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Ong Ka Chuan
Deputies - Datuk Robert Lau &
Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin

Works Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad
Deputy - Datuk Yong Khoon Seng

Energy, Water and Communications Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor
Deputy - Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
Deputy - Datin Paduka Rohani Abdul Karim

International Trade and Industry Ministry:
Minister - Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputies - Loh Wei Keong, Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan

Foreign Affairs Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim
Deputy - Tunku Azlan Abu Bakar

Education Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein
Deputies - Datuk Wee Ka Siong, Datuk Razali Ismail

Higher Education Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Khaled Nordin
Deputies - Khoo Kok Choong, Datuk Idris Harun

Transport Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Ong Tee Keat
Deputy - Anifah Aman

Human Resources Ministry:
Minister - Datuk S. Subramaniam
Deputy - Datuk Noraini Ahmad

Women, Family and Community Development Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen
Deputy - Noriah Kasnon

National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Shafie Apdal
Deputy - Datuk Teng Boon Soon

Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili
Deputy - Fadilah Yusof

Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Noh Omar
Deputy - Datuk Saiffuddin Abdullah

Natural Resources and Environment Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas
Deputy - Datuk Abu Ghapur Salleh

Rural and Regional Development Ministry:
Minister - Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib
Deputy - Tan Sri Joseph Kurup

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Shahrir Samad
Deputy - Jelaing Mersat

Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
Deputy - Senator A. Kohilan

Youth and Sports Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaacob
Deputy - Wee Jack Seng

Health Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
Deputy - Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad

Information Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek
Deputy - Datuk Tan Lian Hoe

Tourism Ministry:
Minister - Datuk Azalina Othman
Deputy - Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abu Taib

Fed.Territory
Minister - Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique
Deputy - M. Saravanan

Colbie Caillat LIVE in Malaysia!

(The stage where Colbie is performing)

The day before yesterday which is on the 14th March 2008 was a night to remember. Colbie Caillat pronounced "Kol-bee Kal-lei" a young singer hailed from Malibu - California currently at the age of 22 years old made her debut concert appearence at the Laundry, The Curve, Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. I first time saw her video clip appeared on tv few days ago for her hit single "Bubbly". She has a very beautiful voice similar to the like of Sheryl Crow. I manage to get 3 complimentary tickets to attend her concert.

(I am just behind them, Colbie & her band having a group talk)

The concert was scheduled to start by 8pm but it turn out to be later than we had expected as rain starts pouring at the area. People were searching for cover. Luckily me & my friends manage to take our shelter at the nearby restaurant. However, there are some so called "loyal-fans" still standing under the open sky & get themselves wet under the rain. Not to mentioned people who bring along umbrellas & rainjackets.

(She waves her hair in front of me! A beautiful shot taken)

At around 8.30pm the DJs of the organizers of Hits.FM start to warm up the crowd by doing some games to win prizes of Colby Caillat's CDs & posters. I've got her CD already so there's no need for me to get wet for another. By 9.15pm the sky starts to clear. I manage to get near to the stage. It was a long wait for her to come to the stage. Finally Colbie & her bodyguard arrived at around 9.30pm. I manage to get near her & took some picture of her & her band.

(Looking at me while performing on stage)

It was a beautiful performance by Colbie that night. She sang about 8 songs of the total 12 songs produced for her debut Coco album. There's also Hitz.FM winner named Prima (might spelled wrongly) who manage to sing along Colbie on the stage. Woah! She's 1 lucky girl! I think every other Malaysian would be very jealous of her because just how many people who manage to sing side-by-side with an international artise?

(Azza, Asari, Natalie-Hitz.fm DJ & Me enjoying ourselves)

Her concert finally come to an end around 10.30-11pm. Next is the authograph session with the fans. What really pisses me off here is that no fans are allowed to take any pictures with her! I should have taken a picture with her earlier. FYI, Malaysia has a very bad reputation as a country to have a fan-artist session. This not only happen to Colbie's concert but all other concert too! Arrogant organizers! The same thing happen to the Sunburst concert held on the 15th of March (yesterday).

(The signed CD album :-p )

Anyway, it took me 15mins on the queing line to finally meet meet her face to face. She signed my copy of her album Coco. I must say she's a very beautiful lady. She has a beautiful pair of green eyes & a wide smile that i cant just stop staring. She's a very humble & down to earth lady who deals with her fans very well. After having a moment with her i head to the exit of the signing area. I'm so happy that i attended her concert. Later that night me & my friends have a drink at Rasta & few hours later at Hartamas just to ease the hype that we've gone through. It was certainly a memorable night that will never be delete from my memory.

12th Malaysia General Elections...who did u vote?

Free & fair election...a phrase that has been ringging at the ears of most people in the world...

(The place where i cast my vote, my old primary school...mind u i'm the 1st batch of this school)

Yesterday was an epic battle between The Government (led by BN) against the Opposition aka Barisan Alternatif @ BA (comprised mainly of DAP, PAS, PKR) to win the hearts of many Malaysian to form the new government. And the outcome of that result is... a great battle scar towards the Barisan Nasional. The BA manage to take over Selangor, Penang, Perak & Kedah from the BN. While Kelantan remains the impenetratable stronghold on PAS @ BA. A humiliating defeat...most of the people would say as the BN won only due to simple majority & not by 2/3 majority. A great victory towards the BA indeed!

(Checking our names at the frostdesk reception before we're allowed to go inside to vote)

Me being a Subang Jaya resident since 1988...this is my 1st experience of casting a vote. A vital vote that could change the rule & administration for the country... my family & I cast our votes after having our lunch at home. We arrive at SKSS17 Subang Jaya (my former primary school 95-96) around 3pm. I manage to take a peek at the BN bench over there. There were lots of supporters coming from BN's component parties while the DAP bench only consisted about 3 staffs. Then i make my move to the polling station inside the school compound. There we met Mr.Kumar who was a traffic officer at the school since my batch. He looks healthy as I remember it 12 years ago!

(The entrance of the room where i cast my vote)

I'm voting at the No. Saluran 3. I guess this means that i'm the 3rd generation of the voters coz the elders seems to be at Saluran 1 & 2 (i might be wrong though). There after showing my IC & clarifying that i'm eligible to vote, the person from SPR with the list on her hand called my name out loud so that the pemerhati from each representative take note of my attendance. Then, they gave me 2 piece of papers to mark my choice on the Parliament & DUN's seat. After made my decision & marked my papers, i insert it inside the transparent box in the middle of the room. Everybody was watching my action,...hehehe....i know my votes are important for future of the country. After casting our votes, my family & I went to Subang Parade for hi-tea before we head home later by 6pm.

(The exit door after casting the vote)

It was said that the result of the election will be broadcast by 9pm at night. Most of the channels have their political analyst to commentate on the election. I must say that the result came out very slowly. My family & our neighbours had our barbeque near the enclave to enjoy the thrill of knowing the result but i must say the state of Selangor's result came out very slow. It bored me the whole night. How can they announce the result very late at night? Things were not even finish by 3am! I must say that this is the most ridiculous timeline of result given i've ever seen. The ESPN can announce & post the result of any sports better than our own channels!

At 1am i decides that its enough for my wait. I take a short nap til i realize that the unofficial result came by saying that Selangor has been won by the BA & not BN. Whoa!!! (shocking) Oh well, i hope that the newspaper tommorow will give a good review of the election. However, to my findings when my parents brought the Malay & English newpapers...there were still unofficial result of the election. This really pissed me off. I decide to checkout the SPR website & found the exact figure & result of the election...

And the result for DUN Subang Jaya (N-31) are...

Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan - DAP - 23,459 votes

Ong Chong Swen - BN - 9,608 votes

While the result where i'm voting for the (P-104) Parliament of Kelana Jaya are...

(L-R: Loh Gwo Burne, Lee Hwa Beng, Billi Lim)

Loh Gwo Burne - PKR - 30,298 votes

Lee Hwa Beng - BN - 25,267 votes

Billi Lim Peng Soon - Bebas/Independant - 1,895 votes

These were what the Subang Jayan voted yesterday.

The ruling party BN have lost 5 states to the BA! A shocking result. A political analyst said that the ruling party should do a post-mortem on why they losses so many seats on both Parliament & DUN. I have to agree with him. Malaysians these days are much more aware of their rights & keep a very watchful eyes on the people they vote.

Tommorow i'll be attending a post-mortem & review of the current Federal Elections held at ISIS Kuala Lumpur. I hope to get more news on the current situation. Anyway, i congratulate all the Malaysians for doing their part in the 12th Malaysia General Elections. You certainly make a difference!

The year of the Rat!

On the 21st February 2008 is the day i enter the 24th years of my life. Born on the year of the Rat according to Chinese Astrology, 2008 was said to be a promising year for me. Yet i dont know what the future holds. They said that a Rat should not be in their comfort zone in order to achieve greater success. Hmm...maybe they are right, i should work harder to make my dreams possible. Like the Adidas slogan said 'Impossible is Nothing'

They said that Rats who're born during the day are most likely to have a rich easy life while those Rats who're born during the night may have a life of hard work. People who're born in these years are said to be cheerful & kind. Rats tend to sleep all day & hunt all night. Hmm...i better check with my birth certificate on what time was i born.

Some famous people who're associated with the year of the Rats are William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Winston Churchill & George Washington. I think i have these 4 peoples' characteristics.

The first William Shakespeare a poet. I love Arts & Literature! It makes my mind works at its best playing with words. I guess that's why i'm taking the Bachelor of Arts for my tertiary education.

The second Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the musician & composer. For your information, i've tons of Orchestral & Scores musics from various composers not just Mozart but also Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Howard Shore, Nick Glenn Smith etc! To me the music is at it best with no vocals.

The third Winston Churchill an orator, statesman, Prime Minister & a British Army officer. I've an ambition to become a military officer due to passion & family background but i think i'd better go for the legal service or diplomatic core because a man with words holds the key to a successful future.

The fourth George Washington was said of all the Americans he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Somehow i see myself having some of GW characteristics which is serving for the love of the country.

Other celebrities who're born in the same year of the Rat includes Prince Charles, rapper Eminem, actress Scarlett Johansson. Haha..., the Rat rule the street!

A stint at Borders Bookstore Malaysia

(The main entrace advertistment before the grand opening on the 6th Dec 2007!)

On the 19th November 2007 I started my working career with Borders Bookstore here at The Gardens MidValley, Malaysia. Here i make friends with staffs from all over the world & Malaysia. The Store Manager is Mr Ooi, The Senior Sort Manager from Seattle, US Sarah Florio & other newly transferred staffs from The Times Square & The Curve including: Sakina, Yuana, Erwin, Dorn, Danny, Syed, Kid, Dee, etc.

(The 1st day morning briefing by Sarah Florio & Mr Ooi)

On the 1st day sorting & shifting...we're more like a working labour. Taking all the packages from the trucks & bring it to the relevent section & sort it before we shelf it. There are a lot of sections here. During the sort period, i mostly handled with the Genre, Travel, Cooking & Kids section.

(Me not on picture & Najmi, Naim, Sharina & others having training on the TLU system)

The opening was origially planned on the 6th. Due to our high commitment, we managed to put things beyond schedule which means that we only concentrating on the shifting with the remaining days. Nearing the final days before the opening, our main concern was the Mentor (chinese books) & Basheer (arts & design books) which were lease to foreign distributor to handle were seems to be working very slowly. Not to mention Starbucks too! But in the end, all turn out well.

('Winnie the Poos?' Some people just dont know Disney that well...huhu)

On the opening day itself ie 6th December, i was given the opportunity to handle the cash register (casher). Its the first time i ever handled a cash register. But as time goes on it turns out well. Only to find out later when i closed my bay, it was found that i short 30 cents. Heck. I've to replace that shortage with my own money. So much for being a casher.

(Another morning briefing by Sarah. We always get the interesting 'Question of the Day' like dream places to go, super-powers, books to give on a tourist who'll take 18 hrs flight etc. I just love morning briefing with interesting question.)

Most of the time when i'm not handling the Cash Register or the Information Counter i'd most likely to be found at my section. They had assigned me to History, Romance & Crime books section. I've no problem with History & Crime books but Romance??? Hmm...honestly speaking...i'd never touch a romance book til i work here. But hey! Its a challenging career learning about books that i'd never bother flipping into.

(Me with Sarah who's the Sort Manager from Seattle. I'll always remember her as Meredith Grey's twin sister coz she have an uncanny resemblance with the character.)

After working for a few days here at the Borders, i learn about the business itself. 'How to make a good customer service.' Besides customers to the bookstore comes from all walks of life. From a minor to an elderly people and from nobody to some very influential people. It was fun working here & meet new people everyday!