THEY had been looking forward to opening their case before the International Court of Justice ever since the dispute was placed on the world court's list four years ago.
And the Singapore camp was working hard on honing its arguments to the very last, when the ICJ began yesterday the hearing on the sovereignty of Pedra Branca and its two nearby outcrops, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
According to Ambassador-At-Large Professor Tommy Koh, who is serving as the agent of Singapore for this case, morale is very high and the team was well-prepared for the session.
"After almost 28 years, we are very pleased that the dispute will finally be brought to an end," Prof Koh was quoted as saying in an AP report. He added that the disagreement "has been an irritant in the bilateral relations" between Singapore and Malaysia.
Lawyers for Singapore argued yesterday that it has a stronger claim to the strategic island located at the eastern entrance to the Straits of Singapore, about 24 nautical miles from the Republic.
Prof Koh argued that Britain claimed the island more than 150 years ago and it fell to Singapore after the end of colonial rule. He said that was never in question until 1979, when Malaysia published a map with the island included as its territory.
He said that the British took control of Pedra Branca between 1847 and 1851, when it built the Horsburgh Lighthouse there, and that the island passed into Singapore's ownership upon independence.
That Malaysia never disputed it until 1979, "is significant and must be taken to mean that Malaysia never regarded Pedra Branca as her territory", said Prof Koh, as reported by AP.
The Singapore team of over 30 members were armed with maps to show to the judges.
Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong also spoke, and said the evidence shows that Malaysia has portrayed an inaccurate account of the history of the ownership of Pedra Branca.
Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin gave a background of the dispute and played a recording of former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn in a news conference in May 1980 speaking with then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The Malaysian PM had admitted that the question of sovereignty over Pedra Branca was not very clear to Malaysia.
Singapore's team of international counsel then rebutted Malaysia's claim of original title over the island.
Yesterday's hearing was the first of 12 days of oral arguments at the ICJ, which will stretch over three weeks.
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