Malaysia: Were Mahathir’s remarks about ‘reclaiming’ Singapore and Indonesia’s Riau Islands aimed at Johor’s sultan?

In a speech mentioning lands that Malaysia had ceded in the past, the ex-PM reportedly suggested they should be ‘given back’ – but he said his comments had been misconstrued

While some Singaporeans accused him of fomenting ill will between the neighbours, observers in Malaysia said the remarks were likely a veiled jab at the sultan of Johor

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Mahathir Mohamad and Sultan Ibrahim’s family have had testy ties stretching back to the 1980s. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:30pm, 23 Jun 2022Updated: 9:10pm, 23 Jun 2022

Malaysia’s elder statesman Mahathir Mohamad has clarified his recent remarks about lost Malay ancestral land, after reports suggested he hoped Kuala Lumpur would reclaim Singapore and Indonesia’s Riau islands.

Speaking in an event on June 19, the 96-year-old referenced how areas once deemed part of the so-called Malay lands, or “Tanah Melayu”, had been ceded in the past.

In particular, he mentioned the loss of territory on Peninsular Malaysia’s border with Thailand as well as the Riau Islands and Singapore.

The Horsburgh lighthouse on Pedra Branca Island, or Pulau Batu Puteh. File photo: EPA

He also mentioned the rocky outcrop of Pedra Branca – which the world court in 2008 said belonged to Singapore following a territorial dispute between the neighbours.

“We should demand not just that Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Puteh be given back to us, we should also demand Singapore as well as the Riau Islands, as they are ‘Tanah Melayu’,” he was reported to have said.

In a statement on Thursday, Mahathir said his comments had been misreported. “I am not asking Malaysia to claim the land that we had lost,” he said. “I am trying to point out that we are so concerned over losing a table-size rock but never about bigger parts of Malaysia when they were taken from us.”

He suggested it was the mistake of the government of the state of Johor – whose hereditary monarchs he has long sparred with – to have denied in the past that Pedra Branca belonged to the state. “Had that denial not been made, there would be no dispute,” he said.

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