Saifuddin thought the ratification of core UN conventions will be his crowning achievement as Foreign Minister but it turned out to be his biggest misjudgement and failure

There are many political conspiracy theories as why the Pakatan Harapan Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad went to the 73rd United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 28, 2018 and pledged to ratify all remaining core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights.

I do not subscribe to these political conspiracy theories. I believe in the simple one.

The then foreign minister, Saifuddin Abdullah thought that the ratification of all remaining core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights would be his crowning achievement as the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, but it turned out to be his biggest misjudgement and failure.

Saifuddin did not realise that it was a life-line for PAS and UMNO to play the toxic politics of lies, hatred, race and religion to the hilt to find a new relevance, although the PAS President, Hadi Awang, is unable to cite a single case of the 55 out of 57 Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Muslim countries where Islam is undermined or a single case of the 36 out of 38 countries with monarchical system where the monarchical system is affected as a result of the ratification of ICERD or the Rome Statute.

I was in China on a visit when the ICERD fiasco first blew up at the end of 2018.

On 19th November, Mahathir said that the ratification of ICERD would entail an amendment to the Federal Constitution which was “an impossible thing to do” without two-thirds parliamentary majority.

On 24th November 2018, in a speech at the Malaysian Association of Jiansu Annual Gala Dinner in Souchou, China, I said that no Malaysian would want Malaysia to ratify ICERD at the price of another May 13 racial riots in the country as there was no doubt that there were irresponsible elements who were seeking to incite and escalate racial and religious distrust, animosity and hatred to engender the conditions to replicate another May 13 racial riots in Malaysia.

I stressed that Malaysia should not ratify ICERD until the majority of the races and religions in Malaysia supported it and understood that it was not anti-Malay, anti-Islam or anti-Royalty.,

But I was surprised that Saifuddin could later work with the very political personalities and forces which turned his hope of “crowning achievement” as Foreign Minister into his greatest misjudgement and failure.