PAS will proceed with the December 8 rally at Dataran Merdeka over the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), its deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said.
However, it will no longer be a protest.
Instead, the rally will be “a celebratory and thanksgiving gathering” following the cabinet’s decision not to ratify the international treaty which has sparked massive debate over Malay rights and the position of Islam in the country.
Tuan Ibrahim said the Islamist party welcomed Putrajaya’s decision, which was announced in a statement by the Prime Minister’s Department earlier today.
“The original plans for the rally will continue… The people have shown their readiness to participate in the rally. Preparations have been made in each of the states,” he said in a statement carried by PAS organ Harakahdaily.
The rally at Dataran Merdeka will feature prayers and speeches by party leaders.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement today to announce that the government will not ratify ICERD and that it will defend the federal constitution, which reflects the social contract that representatives of all the races agreed to during the formation of the country more than 60 years ago.
PAS, Umno and Malay-rights groups had been against the plan to ratify the treaty.
Legal minds and rights activists, however, have said ratifying ICERD would not necessitate any amendment to Article 153 in the constitution on the special position of Malays, as ICERD allows for temporary race-based affirmative action. – November 23, 2018.
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