Kit Siang: Malaysians do not want another May 13 incident

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians would not want the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) to be ratified at the expense of another May 13 episode, says DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.

The veteran leader raised the spectre of the violence that happened in the country in 1969 because of what he called irresponsible elements “seeking to incite and escalate racial and religious distrust, animosity and hatred to engender the conditions to replicate another May 13 racial riot in Malaysia”.

“I have no doubt that if ICERD is indeed anti-Malaysian Constitution, anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Sultans, the overwhelming majority of Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, would not want Malaysia to ratify ICERD,” he said during the annual gala dinner of the Malaysian Association of Jiangsu in Suzhou, China, on Saturday.

The Iskandar Puteri MP also said the Pakatan Harapan government’s aim to build a New Malaysia had suffered a setback when the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the government would not ratify ICERD and would continue to defend the Federal Constitution.

Lim added that the turn of events was a warning bell to all Malaysians that the “toxic politics of hatred, race and religion”, if allowed to continue, could derail efforts to create a New Malaysia.

“This New Malaysia vision was the cause of the historic May 9, 2018, elections and saw a peaceful and democratic transition of power for the first time in six decades.

“It also gave hope to the world that freedom, justice and good governance for the people could be achieved using a democratic system of government,” he said.

The vision, he said, could still fail if the country allowed “political opportunists and desperadoes to exploit the lies and toxic politics of hatred, race and religion to the extent of unleashing racial and religious conflicts”.

“Why is Malaysia cutting itself off from the overwhelming majority of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) as Malaysia and Brunei are the only countries that have not ratified the ICERD?” Lim asked.

He said there was no indication that the ratification of ICERD would undermine the position of the Malay Rulers.