According to a report in Astro Awani, Mahathir did this in protest against former attorney-general Apandi Ali remaining as the task force chairman.

The task force had been formed to look into and review laws related to the country’s earlier dispute with Singapore over Batu Puteh.

The Langkawi MP told reporters he would not cooperate with the task force until Apandi was replaced.

“As an individual involved in this case, he should not have been appointed as the task force chairman. It would have been more appropriate for him to be a witness but he was appointed as chairman instead. It’s ridiculous,” he said.

Mahathir said he had earlier submitted letters to the AGC to voice his concern about Apandi’s role but that there had been no response.

He said it was important that the matter be corrected as Apandi’s position as task force head would likely bring about conflicts of interest.

He believed anyone was eligible to replace Apandi as long as they were transparent and committed to fairness.

Mahathir had previously come under criticism for blaming the loss of Batu Puteh on the Johor government.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said last Oct 9 that a special task force would be set up to scrutinise and recommend options, including a review of laws, regarding the matter.

Putrajaya had, on Feb 3, 2017, filed an application to review the May 23, 2008 decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Singapore had sovereignty over Batu Puteh.

Apandi, who was the attorney general in 2017, said he would lead a team of review experts to the ICJ in the Netherlands.

However, in 2018, the Pakatan Harapan government under Mahathir withdrew the application before the case came up for hearing on June 11.