The Anti-ICERD (

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third -generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discri ...

) Rally or Himpunan Aman Bantah ICERD (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

) is a rally that was held in Dataran Merdeka,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, Malaysia on 8 December 2018. The rally was organised by opposition right-wing political parties

Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamentalism, PAS's ...

and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), with the support of various non-governmental organisations. The rally was held in response to the new Malaysian government's plan to ratify the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

convention known as the

(ICERD). The opposition parties from UMNO and PAS seriously deny the ratification of the convention, as it is contrary to the

Constitution of Malaysia The Federal Constitution of Malaysia ( ms, Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia) which was promulgated on 16 September 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles. It is a written legal document which was preceded ...

. The constitution recognizes special rights for the

and

Bumiputra ''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controver ...

. Even though the government announced that it would not ratify the convention on 23 November 2018, the organiser decided to push on with the rally and shifted its main focus towards celebrating the government's decision on not ratifying ICERD.

Background

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention which commits its members to the elimination of

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...

and the promotion of understanding among all races. Malaysia is one of the 18 countries in the world that have not ratified this convention. It is also one of the two Muslim-majority countries that have yet to ratify it, along with

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

. On 28 September 2018, the prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad addressed the UN General Assembly, announcing the new government has to "ratify all remaining core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights", including ICERD and other five unratified conventions. However,

Khairy Jamaluddin Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar ( Jawi: ; born 10 January 1976) is a Malaysian politician. He most recently served as Minister of Health in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 t ...

disputed the UN address and raised concerns about ICERD's impact on

bumiputra ''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controver ...

and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

privileges and special treatment in the country. On 19 November 2018, in Parliament, Waytha Moorthy, who is in charge of National Unity and Social Wellbeing, started speaking on the intention of the government in ratifying ICERD and said that consultations with relevant stakeholders would be held in the first quarter of 2019, to the Opposition's denunciations.

Participants

While the organizers set a target of half-million people to attend the rally, the Kuala Lumpur police's official figures estimated 55,000 people attended the rally (mostly PAS supporters), including PAS president

Abdul Hadi Awang Abdul Hadi bin Awang ( Jawi: عبدالهادي بن اواڠ; born 20 October 1947) is a Malaysian politician and religious teacher who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Marang since October 1990, 7th President of the Malaysian I ...

and former prime minister

Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malaysi ...

. In

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...

, the state government declared a public holiday on the next day (9 December 2018) to allow Kelantanese people to attend the rally in Kuala Lumpur. The organisers, however, claimed that the number of participants reached more than 300,000 based on their estimation.

Rally

On the day of the rally before the rally started at 2 pm, the

silat is the collective term for a class of indigenous martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Philip ...

alliance ''Pertubuhan Gabungan Silat Pertahan Perlembagaan (PERTAHAN)'' submitted a memorandum to the

Yang Di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...

to express their protest over ICERD and other issues. The rally started at 2 pm with mass crowds marching to

Dataran Merdeka Independence Square ( ms, Dataran Merdeka) is a square located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. It was formerly known as the Selangor Club Padang or simply the ''Padang'' (meaning "field" ...

from

Masjid Negara The National Mosque of Malaysia ( ms, Masjid Negara Malaysia) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main ...

Masjid Jamek Jamek Mosque, officially Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque ( ms, Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad) is one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak River and may be accessed via Jala ...

and Sogo complex and ended early at 5 pm due to heavy rain.

Aftermath

On 23 November 2018, the Prime Minister's Office announced they would not ratify the convention and would continue defending the Federal Constitution, which they said represents a social contract that was agreed upon by all races during the formation of the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:anti-ICERD rally, 2018 2018 in Malaysia 2018 protests 2010s in Kuala Lumpur December 2018 events in Malaysia Right-wing politics in Asia Protests in Malaysia Protest marches