The government sees no necessity to remove former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali from chairing the special task force that is reviewing legal issues regarding Malaysia’s claim on Pulau Batu Puteh, according to Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

In a response to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who yesterday walked out in protest from an interview by the task force saying that Apandi has a conflict of interest in the case, the minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) said Mahathir should have brought his objection to the government’s attention much earlier.

He said the task force chaired by Apandi has already...