DR Mahathir Mohamad said he prays that the rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) tomorrow proceeds smoothly.

The prime minister, in a video uploaded on Twitter and Facebook, said the government has no intention of preventing the gathering from taking place as doing so would go against the principles of democracy.

“I pray that the rally proceeds without a hitch. Let us all celebrate democracy in Malaysia.”

He said he is of the opinion that there is no need to hold the rally, as the Pakatan Harapan government has announced that Malaysia will not ratify ICERD.

However, some parties have said the gathering is to show gratitude to PH for its decision, said Dr Mahathir, adding that if this is the case, he, too, thanks the organisers for their support.

The prime minister called on the organisers to work hand in hand with police and local authorities to ensure no untoward incidents happen tomorrow, and for attendees to keep the rally area clean.

On Monday, Kuala Lumpur City Hall gave the green light for the rally to go ahead as planned.

It was reported that Kuala Lumpur Mayor Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan said the gathering, organised by Malay-Muslim groups and supported by opposition parties Umno and PAS, can proceed so long as it is conducted in a peaceful manner.

Putrajaya, on November 23, announced that Malaysia will not ratify the United Nations convention, following concerns that doing so would compromise the special status of Malays and Islam as enshrined in the federal constitution. – Bernama, December 7, 2018.