This comes a day after Dr Mahathir Mohamad walked out 15 minutes into an interview with the task force at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in protest against Apandi remaining as chairman, telling reporters he would not cooperate until the former attorney-general was replaced.

“It is simply impossible for me to remove Apandi as the task force’s chairman without justification, as the Cabinet decided on his appointment,” said Wan Junaidi in a statement.

“Mahathir had been informed of Apandi’s appointment and while his actions surprised the task force, its work in reviewing the sovereignty of Batu Puteh will continue.”

Mahathir had submitted letters to the AGC to voice his concerns about Apandi’s role, citing a potential conflict of interest if he remained as task force head.

Wan Junaidi said he was disappointed by Mahathir’s unwillingness to cooperate but acknowledged that the former prime minister had the right to refuse the interview.

On Feb 3, 2017, Putrajaya 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 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.