Why consult rulers on Rome Statute in secret? Student whistleblowers ask academics

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — A group of student activists chided four academics today for allegedly consulting the Conference of Rulers in secret, ultimately leading to Putrajaya withdrawing its ratification of the Rome Statute.

The activists also accused the academics of sowing confusion over the treaty on the International Criminal Court (ICC), after leaking an alleged executive summary of the latter’s briefing warning that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may lose his immunity to the court.

“Why was this consultation done secretly, without the knowledge of the citizens when the Rome Statute is actually a protection for the citizens from the tyranny of the leaders?

“The arguments in the paper was very lopsided when they had only discussed why the Conference of Rulers should reject the Rome Statute,” the nine activists said in a statement.

The activists said they leaked the paper to spark a discourse at all levels, especially among academics, to convince the Conference and the public.

“As ethical academics, they should have given both pros and cons of the Rome Statute to be weighed by the Conference of Rulers appropriately.

“We also made this revelation so these academics can explain themselves and participate in a healthy debate. They were the real source of confusion,” they added.

The group has also started an online petition urging Putrajaya against withdrawing the ratification of the Rome Statute, saying it would bring justice for the victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

The paper was allegedly prepared by Universiti Teknologi Mara’s deputy vice-chancellor and dean of Faculty of Law Prof Datuk Rahmat Mohamad, International Islamic University of Malaysia’s law lecturer Assoc Prof Shamrahayu Ab Aziz, and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia’s law lecturers Fareed Mohd Hassan and Hisham Hanapi.

In it, they warned the Malay rulers that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may be prosecuted by the ICC as the supreme commander of the country’s armed forces.

The activists claimed that the paper was presented to the Conference of Rulers on April 2.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah confirmed that the rulers held an informal meeting on that date to discuss the issue, and Rahmat was among the four people called besides himself.