Dr Mahathir ‘anticipated’ ICERD protest

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 27 Nov 2018 9:40AM · 4 Comments

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says fears over losing Bumiputera privileges are built into the federal constitution. – EPA pic, November 27, 2018.

DR Mahathir Mohamad has dismissed critics who accused him of making a U-turn on an international human rights treaty, saying he expected the Malays to protest against Putrajaya ratifying ICERD.

The prime minister told Free Malaysia Today that when he spoke at the United Nations, he did say Malaysia will ratify all UN conventions.

“When I spoke in the UN, I remember exactly, I said we will ratify all the conventions of the UN. But I pointed out that we are a multiracial and multi-religious country. We will have problems with that.

“So now the problem that we predicted has happened, and we have to react to that,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying.

Umno, PAS and other Malay rights group have seized on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination issue, arguing that ICERD undermines Malay rights and Islam’s supremacy.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang called on God-fearing Malaysians to unite and oppose the anti-discrimination treaty and said its concept is neither religious nor humane, adding that ICERD was a freemason agenda intended to destroy religion, race and country.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Malays would run amok if Putrajaya ratifies the ICERD.

Against this backdrop, the Prime Minister’s Department said last week Malaysia will not ratify the global treaty.

Activists argued that the new Pakatan Harapan should seize the narrative on ICERD and not let Umno and PAS set the agenda.

The question of ratifying ICERD had been raised by the previous administration but neither Umno nor PAS opposed it then, Lawyers for Liberty executive director Latheefa Koya said in a forum last night.

Dr Mahathir told FMT that the fears over Bumiputera privileges, which are at the heart of the opposition against ICERD, were a reflection of the Malay sentiments in the early days of Malaya’s independence.

“I was at that time already active in politics. I knew the sentiments at that time,” he said.

The Malays demanded special privileges in exchange for giving citizenship to the Chinese and Indians, he said.

It was a trade-off deliberately made to last by including it in the federal constitution, he said. – November 27, 2018.

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Comments

  • CITIZENSHIP & INDEPENDENCE?..

    Posted 5 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

    • The British would not have granted independence to the Malays alone, the Chinese and Indians had to be included as part of the equation, as they had proved their value to our British colonial masters by their hard working capability. Otherwise the British will still be here today!..

      Posted 5 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • The social contract is outdated considering the new generations' blood and flesh are born of this land and must be treated as equal . They cannot be prejudiced forever. All must know that fair treatment is for the long term good of a whole of Malaysia, not a part of Malaysia.

    Posted 5 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • The effect of special rights is a double sided sword. In the Malaysia context, special rights hurt the ones they are meant to protect, and hurt even more the peace and progress of the society as a whole.

    Posted 5 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply