Oral argument by Mr. Rodman R. Bundy, avocat à la Cour d'appel de Paris, member of the New York Bar, Frere Cholmeley/Eversheds, Paris, 19 November 2007

Q: DPM, what is your take of the team's performance and going forward?

DPM: As you know, we have reached the end of our first round of presentations of Singapore's case. I think it's premature and it would be also not right for me to comment on how well we have done. But let me say that I am very pleased with the way in which our team, which includes officials from many different agencies, have worked together with the foreign counsels as one team, to present as persuasive and as convincing a case as possible. But we have to remind ourselves that it's still early days and there's much more work to be done, and we have to be alert and agile to any surprises that may arise when Malaysia presents its case next week, and therefore, our team is going to work hard in the coming two weeks to ensure that we have all our arguments covered, and prepare all the rebuttals and counter-arguments to any main points that may be raised next week. So there is much more work to be done.

Q: The morale and confidence of the team going forward?

DPM: Well, as Ambassador Koh said, the morale of the team is high. It's not just here in The Hague...we must remember that we have been working on this for many years as a closely knit team, which has worked very well. I'm sure that they will do their best to advance Singapore's interest in Singapore's case. Thank you.

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