PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the then leadership were forced to push the narrative of "normalising" the commitment towards the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and Rome Statute without proper consultation.
In his opening address for the PKR Annual National Congress, the party president reminisced the time when the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government received a huge retaliation over the then administration's decision to ratify those international conventions deemed as controversial.
"The previous Pakatan Harapan, we knew there were some mistakes. Not the mistakes of the Cabinet members, but forced from above. Because the elite wanted ICERD, the Rome Statute, to be recognised.
"Was there a discussion in the cabinet? No? Was it discussed with members of Parliament? I was a Member of Parliament for Port Dickson. No. Was there any engagement with the public? No. It was discussed but not executed.
"(It was) forced and (through that) unrest arose because they didn't understand, and therefore it became material exploited by the opposition," he told the 2,500 delegates congregated in Putrajaya International Convention Center (PICC) here, tonight.
Therefore, Anwar stressed that the current leadership must learn from the mistakes of the past and avoid repeating such mishaps so that it will continue to receive the support from the masses.
He said that the reform agenda must not be clouded by the wishes of the elites but rather societal realities on the ground.
"It cannot be repeated even though there are liberal elites who say we are slow in the reform programme, but believe me, learn from past experiences.
"If we rush, whether in the implementation of Islam or the implementation of this reform agenda, we will be rejected by the people. Past experience must teach us," he added.
Two days ago, it was reported that the former foreign minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah today denied Anwar's allegation that he did not obtain Cabinet approval before driving Malaysia's abortive ratification of the Rome Statute in 2019.
The Indera Mahkota MP said Anwar's remarks in Parliament on Monday were malicious and misled the Dewan Rakyat.
