THE rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in Kuala Lumpur today ended peacefully, with no arrests made.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim said based on police’s estimation, 55,000 protesters turned up for the gathering, which started at 2pm.

“The rally went on smoothly, with no untoward incidents or arrests,” he said in a statement.

“However, it was tainted by a number of people who brought along their children. This is in violation of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

“We estimate that 55,000 people attended.”

The rally ended about 5pm, when it threatened to storm.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, and there were claps of thunder and flashes of lightning just as PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang began his speech at 4.44pm.

The anti-ICERD rally, organised by Malay-Muslim groups, with the support of Umno and PAS, was originally scheduled to end at 6pm.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall officers earlier estimated the crowd to number between 250,000 and 300,000 people.

Some 10,000 rally-goers were forced to stop in Jalan Tun Perak due to the sheer size of the crowd surrounding Dataran Merdeka.

Malay groups have said the United Nations convention, if ratified, would erode the special rights of the community and Islam as provided for in the federal constitution. – December 8, 2018.