The 2024 Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Batu Puteh has blown the lid off the ineptitude, neglect, and possible deliberate political machinations that led to Malaysia losing Batu Puteh to Singapore in 2008. The RCI has painted a damning picture of Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s leadership during both his first tenure and his second stint as Prime Minister, highlighting not just a failure to act but an active sabotage of Malaysia's territorial integrity. The commission’s findings strongly suggest that Mahathir’s administration mishandled the legal defense of Batu Puteh to such an extent that it can only be seen as a catastrophic misstep—one that may have been caused by incompetence, poor legal advice, or even deliberate negligence. The 2008 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which awarded Batu Puteh to Singapore, remains a national sore that Mahathir, despite his protests, cannot escape. The RCI goes further, accusing Mahathir’s government of missing key opportun...