NO action will be taken against anti-ICERD rally organisers following their questioning by police over the presence of children at the gathering, said Muhyiddin Yassin.

“The anti-ICERD organisers have been called in and questioned on why children were brought to the rally, but we don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” the home minister and Bersatu president told a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.

“But, they should be warned that they shouldn’t do it.”

Three representatives of the organisers yesterday had their statements recorded on the matter. Under the Peaceful Assembly Act, it is an offence for minors to take part in public protests.

Asked about the size of the crowd at Saturday’s rally, which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Muhyiddin said discussing it would be “irrelevant”, but admitted that the “numbers were big”.

“Nobody can accurately determine the size (of the crowd). Police estimated around 60,000 to 70,000 people.

“When we had Bersih, people also disputed the numbers, but they don’t vary by much. But we must accept that the numbers (at Saturday’s rally) were big.”

Malay rights groups, along with Umno and the Islamist PAS, participated in the rally to oppose the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

Putrajaya previously announced that it planned to ratify the United Nations convention by early next year, but made a U-turn last month, following backlash by Malay groups that claimed the treaty would threaten Bumiputeras’ special rights and privileges. – December 11, 2018.