'War crimes unheard of in Malaysia, why the fuss with Rome Statute?'

The four serious offences triable by the International Criminal Court have no connection to Malaysia beyond incidents during the time of the Japanese occupation of Malaya, said Attorney-General Tommy Thomas in dismissing arguements made against Putrajaya's ascension to the Rome Statute.

Speaking at a forum to discuss Malaysia's move to withdraw its accession to the Rome Statute, Thomas drew parallels between the Japanese occupation of Malaya and heinous crimes committed in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.

"But that (Japanese occupation) was a foreign invasion. Throughout the time Malaysia is independent, we have always been a peaceful country.

"So, the crimes have absolutely no connection to Malaysia and, in fact, these offences do not exist in our statute books," he explained in reference to the ICC's jurisdiction to hear crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.

"It does not exist because we (throughout history) do not require it to be legislated.

"So, I can go back, sit down and ask: what was the fuss about Rome Statute for? Absolutely ridiculous!" he stressed.

Thomas, who took BN critics to task for their "hypocrisy" in objecting the Rome Statute, also said the subject has been unnecessarily controversial due to deliberate lies and misrepresentation of facts and law.

"When the Pakatan Harapan government decided to accept the Rome Statute, it was merely continuing a policy decision taken by the previous government.

"So, this hypocrisy that surrounds this debate must be fleshed out, which is, its critics today were supporting the same decision made yesterday," he said.

The then BN government under former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had in March 2011 agreed to accept the Rome Statute although Thomas pointed out today that the move was never formalised until the present Harapan administration before a decision was made to withdraw.

When met by reporters later, G25 member Noor Farida Ariffin recalled how the then BN government had not raised any objections, and in fact overruled objections from the Attorney-General's Chambers under Abdul Gani Patail.

“We prepared the cabinet paper and sent it to all the relevant government agencies, including the A-G’s Chambers.

“The cabinet overruled the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ objection and decided to accede to the statute at the end of March 2011," said the former top diplomat, adding that at the time she was director-general of the research treaties and international law department under Wisma Putra.

She also claimed that then foreign minister Anifah Aman "for reasons best known to himself" had refused to sign the prepared instrument of accession to be deposited with the UN secretary-general, as mandated by the Rome Statute.

Following today's forum, Farida said G25 together with other supporting groups will continue to engage with the present Harapan government, starting with the submission of a memorandum containing several recommendations.

Earlier during the discussion, Farida pointed out that the issue of royal immunity should not arise as Malaysia is already a signatory to the United Nation's convention against genocide, which subjects all accused parties to a trial before the International Court of Justice.

Some 400 people packed UM's Law Faculty Tun Mohamed Suffian's auditorium today including critics of the Rome Statute who argued that it was an unnecessary discussion and purportedly going against the Conference of Rulers. - Mkini