KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Umno leaders mocked today the government’s decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute that had been opposed by the Opposition who claimed it violated royal immunity.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak pointed out the multiple times Pakatan Harapan (PH) retracted its decisions.

“U-Turn again? How many times is this,” Najib posted on his Facebook page.

The Pekan MP questioned the government’s earlier decision to sign the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it knew all along it couldn’t adhere to the treaty and also asked who was advising the government.

Advertisement

“After months of defending themselves, the government’s excuse is that due to the inability to adhere to certain stipulations in the Rome Statute they’re withdrawing.

“How did they sign it to begin with knowing well there were requirements we couldn’t follow? This is a serious issue as the entire world knows we’ve signed the statute. Now a U-turn,” he added.

Umno secretary general Tan Sri Annuar Musa took to Twitter to chide the government.

Advertisement

“Who got us ‘stuck’ with the Rome Statute for almost a year? Whose fault is it??” he asked.

“Even if we want to withdraw, it’ll take a year according to the law experts,” said the MP for Ketereh.

Former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, however, welcomed Malaysia’s withdrawal from the ICC that investigates international crimes like genocide and war crimes.

“Clearly the Foreign Ministry did not do proper engagement of the relevant stakeholders and ill-advised the PM on such [an] important issue,” he tweeted.