KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today rejected claims that the findings of the royal commission of inquiry on Batu Puteh were released to target Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Saying that the report was factual, he also pointed out that among ministers in charge of overseeing the RCI at the time were two current allies of the twice former prime minister.

"This is not about revenge; the special task force was formed before my time, during Ismail Sabri’s tenure as prime minister,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

"The ministers at the time were Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Datuk Seri Takiyudin Hassan, and the task force conducted studies with findings (in the report) that were even more critical. So, don’t play up this narrative of revenge.”

He reiterated that the RCI was about defending national sovereignty, saying the loss of sovereign territory was not a trivial matter.

When asked whether criminal action should be taken against Dr Mahathir as recommended in the RCI report, Anwar said this was a matter for the attorney general to decide.

Previously, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said told Parliament that there was no ulterior motive in the release of the report.

Azalina said it was made available to allow discussions on addressing weaknesses in the handling of the case and to adopt recommendations for improvement.

Some Opposition MPs have claimed the RCI report’s release to be politically motivated, with Dr Mahathir also alleging the inquiry was conducted specifically to blame him for Malaysia’s loss of Batu Puteh.