The court will also hear Hatta Sanuri’s appeal against a High Court decision allowing an application by the government to prevent documents in the suit to be disclosed to parties not involved in the case.

The appeal court date was confirmed by senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan when contacted by Bernama.

Hatta’s suit had been struck out in July last year by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur which ruled that he lacked legal standing to file the action.

He had filed the suit in May 2021, claiming he was affected by the former government’s decision to withdraw an application to review the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) award of sovereignty over Batu Puteh to Singapore.

He said the government had not provided any explanation for withdrawing the review application, in light of new evidence that favoured Malaysia’s bid to overturn the ICJ’s decision.

He sought a court declaration for the government to pay RM10 million compensation to Malaysians over the decision.

The ICJ had ruled in 2008 that sovereignty over the islet of Batu Puteh belonged to the republic. The islet, called Pedra Branca by Singapore, lies off the coast of Johor and contains a lighthouse.