PM withdrew from Rome Statute to avoid clash with royals - Anwar

RANTAU POLLS | Putrajaya's move to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was to avoid confrontation with the Conference of Rulers, Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday.

Speaking at a ceramah in Rantau last night, the PKR president said Putrajaya's interpretation of the statute, as explained by the attorney-general, is that it would not impact the powers of rulers.

"But the rulers convened and were concerned that their powers would be affected.

"Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told me yesterday that when that view was expressed, he did not want to prolong it, so he withdrew (from the statute)," he said.

On Wednesday, Mahathir announced Malaysia's withdrawal from the Rome Statute – not because the treaty was bad, but due to the confusion created by "one particular person who wants to be free to beat up people."

Anwar said the move was a sign of respect to the Conference of Rulers, even if they viewed the statute differently.

"The government had made a decision but was willing to abandon it to calm the situation down and to avoid confusion.

"There was a concern some people would think we had conflicting opinions with the rulers," he said.

Mahathir, in announcing Malaysia's withdrawal from the statute, also claimed that there was an attempt to get the rulers to sign an order against him.

Anwar told a press conference yesterday that Mahathir was referring to a "particular personality from a royal family".

Anwar said he was certain as he had met Mahathir to discuss the matter.

The ICC tries four core international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crime of aggression. - Mkini