For Sultan Mahmud Iskandar, the Sultan of Johor who had passed away late yesterday evening, an unfinished business of his was to get back Pulau Batu Puteh (or Pedra Branca), an island which Malaysia lost to Singapore, when International Court of Justice ruled in favour of the latter.

johor singapore causeway 041106 sultan iskandar Following the decision, Sultan Mahmud made known his displeasure, while opening the Johor Legislative assembly in June 2008, when he said:

"Suka beta ingatkan bahawa beta tak lupa pada Pulau Batu Puteh, bukan hak Singapura tetapi milik Johor. Sampai bila pun beta akan mencari ikhtiar untuk mendapatkan semula pulau milik Johor itu."

(Let me remind the subjects that I will not forget the loss of Pedra Branca. It is not Singapore's territory but Johor's. I will continue to make efforts to get the island which belongs to Johor."

Sultan Mahmud, 77, passed away at the Puteri Specialist Centre at about 7.15pm last night.

Will the mission be kept alive?

Pedro Branca's loss may be Sultan Mahmud's unfulfilled mission but it would be interesting to see whether the next ruler, Tuanku Ibrahim Ismail, carries the baton.

pulau batu putih pulau batu puteh 230508 ICJ had on May 23, 2008, decided in favour of Singapore in the 28-year sovereignty dispute with Malaysia over Batu Puteh - a rocky island the size of a football field.

The 16-member panel handed a 12 to 4 judgment against Malaysia which had claimed ownership of the island, at the entrance of the heavily-used Singapore Straits.

"The court by 12 votes to four, finds that sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh belongs to the Republic of Singapore," said presiding judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh at the end of his two-hour oral judgment.

pulau batu puteh 140508 pulau batu putih

Two of his dissenting colleagues wrote in their judgment that the acts taken into consideration by the ICJ as manifestations of sovereignty by Singapore were minor and sporadic.

"Their meaning was far from clear from the perspective of Johor and Malaysia. The court should, therefore, not have concluded that sovereignty over the island had passed to Singapore. It should have attributed it to Malaysia, as the undisputed successor to the Sultanate of Johor."

pulau batu puteh putih the hague icj judgement court 230508 01 The 16-member panel however, vote in a 15 to 1 decision said Malaysia has sovereignty over one of the island's two rocky outcrops - Middle Rocks , which lie south of Pulau Batu Puteh.

On the other outcrop named South Ledge, the court handed a 15 to 1 judgment stating that it belonged to "the state in the territorial waters of which it is located".

Sultan's demise loss to Malaysians

Like many Johoreans, I join millions who mourn the sudden loss of Sultan Iskandar.

For the many brought up or schooled in Johor, Sultan Iskandar was the only ruler we knew, leading the state for almost three decades.

For me, he will always be remembered as one of the few kings who was capable of delivering off the cuff Friday sermons, imparting his knowledge of Islam to the people, albeit controversial at times.

When he ascended the throne in 1981, his routine including visiting various mosques around the state to deliver his sermons and meet the people.

Even when he became the Yang di-Pertuan Agong between 1984 to 1989, this part of Sultan Iskandar's routine did not change, giving a sermon at the National Mosque, too.

As a people's ruler, the late Sultan Iskandar would at times break protocol to shake hands to be close to the people.

His firmness was seen when he raised strong objections to the proposal to build a third bridge linking Johor and Singapore.

"I am here to inform you that His Royal Highness has decreed that he has objected to the construction of the third bridge," Tuanku Ibrahim said, in representing his father when opening the state assembly seating in Nusajaya.

The sultan was also known for his passion for polo, surfing, hunting and golf.

While some of his actions may have been questionable and controversial, and may have resulted in the amendments to limit the rulers' powers during the early 1990s, he would always be remembered as the ruler when Pedra Blanca was lost.

Whether the island once again be part of Johor and Malaysia remains to be seen.

Al-Fatihah.