On Tuesday, the former prime minister 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 of the special task force reviewing the Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge sovereignty case.

He told reporters he would not cooperate until Apandi was replaced.

In a statement yesterday, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Mahathir had been informed of Apandi’s appointment well in advance and should have raised his concerns sooner.

Mahathir, however, said he had sent several letters to the AGC and the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department objecting to Apandi’s appointment last month, all of which were ignored.

“Not only was my objection ignored, but the law minister also claimed I had raised my concerns late.

“I will not cooperate with a task force consisting of members who possess a conflict of interest,” he said in a statement.

Mahathir had raised concerns about Apandi’s role, citing a potential conflict of interest if he remained as task force head.

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.