Malaysia has withdrawn from ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes genocide, war crimes, crimes of humanity and crimes of aggression.

On April 5, apart from stating that the withdrawal was done on grounds of political confusion, Mahathir further alleged that the move was due to "one particular person who wants to be free to beat people up", The New Straits Times (NST) reported.

Mahathir did not name the individual, but added that should the person do so, he would not hesitate in sending him to the police.

Mahathir said:

"It is because of the confusion created by one particular person who wants to be free to beat up people and things like that. If he beats up people, I will send the police to arrest him, I don’t care who he is."

An alleged plot by a member of the royal household to pit the Malay rulers against Mahathir

Mahathir also alleged that the withdrawal was part of a plot to pit him against the Malay rulers, according to NST.

As per Mahathir:

"This is politics.... (with) an attempt to get the rulers involved so that they can get a (political) leverage, and even try to get the rulers to sign something against me."

Separately, prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim stated on April 6 that Mahathir was allegedly referencing somebody within the royal household, NST added.

Anwar's statement was in response to a question by Malaysian media on whether Mahathir's claim was in reference to someone within Pakatan Harapan (PH).

"The statement was very specific. The PM was making a reference to a specific attempt by a particular personality in the royal household that brought it (Rome Statute) up."

Anwar did not elaborate if the person in question was also the same person that Mahathir referenced as "(wanting) to be free to beat people up."

Staving off an alleged coup by the Malaysian "deep state"

Subsequently, on April 7, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah added a new layer of intrigue to the issue by stating that the withdrawal was done over fears of a coup by the Malaysian "deep state", The Malay Mail reported.

In Saifuddin's own words:

“[There was the] possibility of the issue being manipulated to the extent that people go to the streets, moved by the ‘deep state’ and certain apparatus."

For the uninitiated, the term "deep state", as defined by Malaysian media, refers to a form of secret government that operates independently of a country’s political leadership for its own personal agenda.

This secret government can include personnel from the armed forces, intelligence agencies and civil service.

While Saifuddin did not elaborate on what he meant by "deep state", he added that the "apparatus" was not a democratically elected institution.

"I would keep it that way, let the ‘rakyat’ decide. I use the term apparatus... that are not democratically elected."

Sultan of Johor thanks the Malaysian government for withdrawing from the treaty

In any case, April 7 also saw the Sultan of Johor thanking the Malaysian federal government for withdrawing from the treaty, The Malay Mail further reported.

In a Facebook post, the Sultan of Johor thanked the government for hearing the voice of the people in cancelling the Rome Statute, along with respecting and accepting the views of the Conference of Rulers.

The Sultan further added that he would ensure the country's sovereignty and protect public harmony.

Previously, the Sultan, together with his son, the Crown Prince of Johor, had been among the fiercest critics of the Rome Statute's ratification.

In particular, the Sultan had accused the Malaysian federal government of breaking the constitution by signing the Rome Statute and that the move was equivalent to treachery.

The Sultan elaborated that this was because such moves touched on the powers of the rulers, Malay privileges, and the sanctity of Islam.

In 1993, Mahathir removed the legal immunity of Malaysian royalty

For those who can connect the dots thus far, good on you.

Because this is not the first time that Mahathir has clashed with the Johor royal household over matters of legislation.

In 1992, when Mahathir was prime minister, a Bill was passed to curb the privileges and powers of Malaysia’s royal families, following the controversial Douglas Gomez incident.

Gomez, a hockey coach, was allegedly assaulted by then-Sultan of Johor, Mahmood Iskander Ismail and some of his men.

Previously, Malaysian royals were immune to prosecution and any critics of the royals could be charged with sedition.

But that changed following the Bill’s passage into law in March 1993.

It also introduced limits on the royals’ ability to issue pardons, and commoners could freely criticise the royals, except when questioning their legitimacy.

Here's what the Johor Sultan and Crown Prince said in their criticism of signing the Rome Statute:

Top image from Mahathir Mohamad Facebook