This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 3, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: While Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has dismissed claims that the Johor government has no knowledge about the ship-to-ship (STS) hub project in the state, Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim is refuting the matter.

In a Facebook post yesterday, he said the state government, including the land and mines office, is not aware of it. “Whoever says that Johor is aware is lying,” said Tunku Ismail.

He also said neither himself nor his father, Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, is aware of the project. “The menteri besar is also not aware based on the attached voice recording,” he said, referring to an audio clip he uploaded with the post.

In the clip, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian is heard telling reporters that he had no knowledge about the STS project. He said he only came to know about the project through a Facebook post. “But, whether [the post is] true or not I’m not sure,” he said.

Tunku Ismail went on to say that anything within three nautical miles of the shores of the state, in particular land and water matters, is the sole prerogative of the state. “Is Putrajaya trying to usurp the powers of the state?” he wrote.

The shipping hub issue, he said, showed that Putrajaya has acted unconstitutionally twice.

“The second unconstitutional act is in the ratification of the Rome Statute. The government signed the instrument without getting consent from the Conference of Rulers,” the crown prince charged.

Last month, Malaysia signed an instrument to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which was set up in 2002 with the objective of ending impunity against perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.

Wisma Putra said Malaysia’s accession to the Rome Statute reflects its commitment to combating international crimes for global peace and security. But some critics have raised concerns that it could affect the position and immunity of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.