KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (NNN-Bernama) — Group of 25 Eminent Malays (G25) representative Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin strongly believes that the government should really reconsider its decision to withdraw from ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
She also suggests that the government should form a special committee of experts to debunk false assumptions surrounding the statute.
She said that by having law experts and better communication strategies the government would have better coordination in its public engagement.
“By having all these (strategies), the rakyat will know that there is nothing to fear about the ICC and it is not an agenda of the western superpower,” she said when met by reporters after the ‘Malaysia & Rome Statute’ public forum held at Universiti Malaya here today.
Meanwhile, Noor Farida who is one of the speakers at the forum, also revealed that Malaysia almost acceded to ratify the international treaty that covers serious crimes and crimes against humanity in 2011.
She admitted that as the Director-General at the Research, Treaties and International Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs back then, she was the person responsible for preparing the Cabinet papers to ratify the ICC.
“I was the one who prepared the Cabinet papers to the minister and all government agencies and to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) during that time.
“(But the then) Attorney-General (Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail) did not agree with it, while all the other departments and ministries agreed to (ratify) it…the Cabinet then overruled the AGC’s objections and decided to accede (to the Rome Statute) in March 2011 but the Foreign Minister at that time did not want to sign it,” she said.
On April 5, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that Malaysia had withdrawn from ratifying the Rome Statute due to political confusion among the people.
Noor Farida said G25 would also send a memorandum to the government next week on what was discussed and recommended in today’s forum.
Another speaker, constitutional law expert Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi also echoed the call for the government to consider the withdrawal from the ICC.
“Parliamentary committee should be appointed to discuss the matter in greater detail while the army and police must be briefed on the laws related to the statute,” he said.
— BERNAMA