The Kuala Lumpur High Court has rejected Dr Mahathir Mohamad's judicial review bid to allow him and his legal counsel to be present throughout the proceedings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) regarding the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge.

Judge Amarjeet Singh dismissed the former premier’s application without costs during proceedings attended by Mahathir’s lawyers Zainur Zakaria and Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, as well as senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Nur Hafizza Azizan representing the respondents.