Mahathir said reports quoting him as saying so were inaccurate, adding that he was merely pointing out how Malaysia was overly concerned about Pulau Batu Puteh’s sovereignty.

“I am not asking Malaysia to claim the ‘land’ that we had lost.

“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. Losing Pulau Batu Puteh is no big deal,” he said in a statement.

The Pejuang president said it was the Johor government that made the mistake of denying that Pulau Batu Puteh, or Pedra Branca, belonged to the state.

He said there would be no dispute over its sovereignty now had that denial not been made.

“We should be grateful that the World Court awarded Pulau Ligitan and Sipadan Island to us. They are much more valuable than Pulau Batu Puteh – just a rock outcrop.

“We should be thankful that Indonesia has not disputed the award. Really, we are not grateful for our gains.”

This follows a report by Singapore’s The Straits Times that Mahathir suggested that Riau and Singapore be reclaimed since they were historically “Malay land”.

“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’,” the report quoted him as saying.

Yesterday, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said Mahathir’s claim had no legal basis as the Riau Islands were internationally recognised as an Indonesian province.

Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said a senior politician like Mahathir should not be making such a “baseless” statement that can harm the ties between the two Asean countries.