He accused Saifuddin of telling a “blatant lie”,  saying it was not his job as the then national unity minister to negotiate ICERD’s ratification with the United Nations (UN).

“The task of ratifying international treaties is clearly within the job scope of the foreign minister, the law minister and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC),” he said in a statement.

“The issue over ICERD erupted because Saifuddin inserted Malaysia’s commitment in a speech that (then prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad delivered at the UN General Assembly.

“It is a widely known fact that (Saifuddin) did that on his own as part of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) manifesto to ratify all remaining UN conventions.”

Waytha, who is the Malaysian Advancement Party (MAP) president, told Saifuddin, who is the foreign minister since Mahathir’s 2018 Cabinet, to “grow up” and accept that he was responsible over the issue.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini quoted Saifuddin as saying Waytha was the minister who handled Malaysia’s failed attempt to ratify ICERD.

The foreign minister said he did not recall seeing a Cabinet paper on ratifying the convention, adding that he did not know why he was being attacked over the issue.

Saifuddin claimed the only international treaties he was involved in were the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) and the United Nations Convention against Torture.

On Saturday, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang claimed he was the prime mover behind the Sheraton Move in 2020 to shorten the reign of PH, after his party felt that the ruling coalition was moving to eradicate the special rights of the Malays.

Hadi said this followed the massive protest in Kuala Lumpur against attempts by PH to ratify ICERD.

Following Hadi’s statement, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang accused Hadi of forgetting Saifuddin’s role in the matter.

Saifuddin is now with Bersatu and heads Perikatan Nasional’s Pahang chapter.