Dr M made Icerd pledge on Saifuddin's recommendation - Liew
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had pledged at the United Nations General Assembly to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All (Icerd) based on recommendations made by then foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
This was according to former deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong's latest book titled Lim Kit Siang: Patriot. Leader. Fighter.
The account in the book was in contrast to Saifuddin's position that he was not responsible for the failed ratification of Icerd, which blew up into racial issues and undermined the then Pakatan Harapan government.
Saifuddin had instead attributed the Icerd endeavour, which was overseen by his ministry at the time, to Mahathir's speech made at the UN general assembly in 2018 and also Harapan's manifesto.
However, Liew suggested that Mahathir gave his speech because of Saifuddin.
"Based on the recommendation of foreign minister Saifuddin, the prime minister announced at the UN general assembly on Sept 28 that Malaysia would be a signatory of Icerd," he said.
Previously, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil had also pointed out that the Harapan manifesto made no mention of Icerd.
It merely pledged to ratify international conventions that were deemed suitable.
Liew said following Mahathir's announcement, even Umno leaders such as Khairy Jamaluddin, who is seen as a progressive leader, took a racial angle.
"In an immediate reaction, purportedly progressive Umno leader Khairy was the first to portray the UN convention as one that was threatening the Malays," he said.
Liew added that Umno and PAS used the issue to form the Muafakat Nasional coalition and latched on to it even after Mahathir had backtracked in November.
Malay conservatives were worried that Malaysia's need to commit to equality under Icerd would undermine bumiputera special privileges.
This was despite Icerd allowing countries to include exemption clauses when they ratify the convention.
The then opposition rode on the issue to galvanise support against the Harapan government, which marked the start of a downhill direction for its Malay support.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had pledged at the United Nations General Assembly to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All (Icerd) based on recommendations made by then foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
This was according to former deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong's latest book titled Lim Kit Siang: Patriot. Leader. Fighter.
The account in the book was in contrast to Saifuddin's position that he was not responsible for the failed ratification of Icerd, which blew up into racial issues and undermined the then Pakatan Harapan government.
Saifuddin had instead attributed the Icerd endeavour, which was overseen by his ministry at the time, to Mahathir's speech made at the UN general assembly in 2018 and also Harapan's manifesto.
However, Liew suggested that Mahathir gave his speech because of Saifuddin.
"Based on the recommendation of foreign minister Saifuddin, the prime minister announced at the UN general assembly on Sept 28 that Malaysia would be a signatory of Icerd," he said.
Previously, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil had also pointed out that the Harapan manifesto made no mention of Icerd.
It merely pledged to ratify international conventions that were deemed suitable.
Liew said following Mahathir's announcement, even Umno leaders such as Khairy Jamaluddin, who is seen as a progressive leader, took a racial angle.
"In an immediate reaction, purportedly progressive Umno leader Khairy was the first to portray the UN convention as one that was threatening the Malays," he said.
Liew added that Umno and PAS used the issue to form the Muafakat Nasional coalition and latched on to it even after Mahathir had backtracked in November.
Malay conservatives were worried that Malaysia's need to commit to equality under Icerd would undermine bumiputera special privileges.
This was despite Icerd allowing countries to include exemption clauses when they ratify the convention.
The then opposition rode on the issue to galvanise support against the Harapan government, which marked the start of a downhill direction for its Malay support.
Who will be the first to saman Liew for his book....ha ha ha...
ReplyDeleteBTW has Jibby saman-ed Tommy for his book yet? Sudah Tiga Bulan... Altantuya menunggu....ha ha ha....
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Najib to file defamation suit against Tommy Thomas and book publisher, says lawyer
N Sevagamy
Bernama
February 06, 2021
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 6): Former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak will file a legal action against former Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas over an allegedly defamatory statement in his recently-published book, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, which implicates him to the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.
The matter was confirmed by the former prime minister's counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah when contacted by Bernama.
"Yes, we are suing him. Yesterday, Thomas had replied to our letter of demand (LOD) ... he said that he did not defame our client.
"The publisher, namely, GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd has not replied to our LOD. We are going to file defamation suit against both Thomas and the publisher as soon as possible," said Muhammad Shafee.
On Feb 2, Najib, in the LOD sent through his solicitor, Messrs. Shafee & Co, demanded an apology and RM10 million in damages from Thomas over allegations against him in the book.
In the letter, Najib also gave Thomas until noon yesterday to provide a satisfactory reply, failing which legal proceedings will be taken against him.
He also demanded an apology and unequivocal public retraction of the alleged defamatory statement in chapter 42 under the title "Altantuya" in the book.
He said that by clear inference and innuendo, Thomas had conveyed the message that he, as the then Attorney-General and public prosecutor, was satisfied of the truthfulness of the allegations by two convicted persons that Najib was involved in directing them to murder Altantuya.
The statement was clearly motivated by mala fide and principally done in Thomas' selfish pursuit of seeking cheap publicity, fuelled by his ego, sensationalism and profiteering, he said.
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