Reveal minister responsible for Icerd, Kit Siang tells Saifuddin

 

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has called on former foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah to reveal who was in charge of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) when Pakatan Harapan was in power.

This is after Saifuddin denied it was him, as alleged by former transport minister Anthony Loke.

"Will Saifuddin reveal who was the minister responsible, or is he more prepared to see an increase in his 'trust deficit'?" Lim said in a statement today.

Saifuddin had said that he pledged to have Icerd signed as it was part of the Harapan manifesto but implied someone else was in charge of taking the matter to cabinet.

His claim was disputed by Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil.

Plans to ratify Icerd caused outrage among conservative Malay groups who believed it threatened their privileges.

After intense pressure, the Harapan government on Nov 23, 2018, decided not to proceed with ratifying the treaty.

Part of the pressure included allegations that DAP was anti-Malay.

Lim said this was one lesson Harapan should learn from for the next general election, and that is ministers must be honest, trustworthy and have integrity.

Other lessons he outlined in his statement today were for Harapan to take election pledges seriously; to be more aware of disinformation; not to interfere in the affairs of coalition members, and to have a Harapan "mindset".

That last lesson is likely a reference to Harapan's much-touted spirit of consensus - which Lim implied was lacking when the coalition was in power.

"In the 22-month Harapan government, the (then) prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) was acting in the old mode of BN governments when there should be a new mode, mindset and framework," he said. - Mkini