Newspaper Review 1

Date of Article: 20 Dec 2008, Saturday

Title:Pedra Benca-Behind the scenes

Section: Review~Insights

Overview Of Article

Pedra Branca was in the spotlight last year when the International Court of Justice in The Hague heard Singapore and Malaysia make their case for the island. A new book by Deputy Minister S.Jayakumar and Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh, who played key roles in the case , sheds light on previously undisclosed facts of the case.

Reflections

History can be surprising like the Pendra Branca mysterious recount of the

past.Back in 1992, Singapore was so confident of its legal case on the island that it handed over all its documents to Malaysia. But last year debate led Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong to point out that most of the documents used by Malaysia in her arguments against Singapore were produced by us.

An observant reader may notice that everyday news will sure have an article regarding a country fighting for its territorial rights, like China. Singapore may be small(little red dot), but we do fight for our rights regarding things that belong to us.This kind of determination shown by the government serves as a benchmark for our fellow Singaporean to look up to.

A quote from CJ Chan:"This is a case where history was part of the legal arguments, and law was part of the historical arguments." To date, Singapore in fact has several islands off the coast, including Pulau Ubin, Pulau Tekong and of course, our newly-recruit member, Pedra Branca!