Icerd and the politics of fear
The Dec 8 rally against the UN treaty is a classic example of how politicians can exploit anxieties to gain power.
WHEN all else fails, politicians can always rely on one primal human emotion to gain support or win back lost following.
Fear, whether real or imagined, is a powerful weapon that can move people to do anything.
As fear robs people of their ability to think rationally, controlling the flustered is much easier, especially if they do not understand the issue at hand or the perceived danger.
Last Saturday’s rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd), which attracted thousands of Malays to gather at Dataran Merdeka, is a classic example of how anxieties are manipulated.
A sea of agitated people dressed in white thronged the square and filled into adjoining roads. No one knows the exact numbers but the estimates range from 55,000 by the police to 80,000 by an online portal to the organisers’ varying claims of between 300,000 and 500,000.
But what was the Dec 8 rally really about? According to the script, it was “thanksgiving celebration” to mark the government’s decision not to ratify the UN treaty.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the 73rd UN General Assembly on Sept 28 that Malaysia would move towards endorsing Icerd and five other outstanding human rights conventions. However, the government changed its mind about the plan on Nov 23.
This came in the wake of provocative speeches and threats of violence by Umno, PAS and Perkasa leaders – all made in the name of protecting the Federal Constitution and the position of Islam.
In retracting the plan, Dr Mahathir said it was impossible to ratify the Icerd as the government needed two-thirds majority in Parliament to amend the Constitution.
“Icerd promotes freedom and less discrimination. Article 153 of the Constitution gives some privileges to the indigenous people, which means some may interpret it as being discriminatory.
“If we try to abolish these privileges, it will go against Article 153, which cannot be amended as long as there is no two-thirds majority,” he said, noting that there was also opposition within his own party and other members of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.
But the Dec 8 rally went ahead, as a show of political strength by PAS and Umno, with the predictable modus operandi of using race and religion.
Discredited politicians facing a slew of criminal charges that could see them in jail for long periods had no qualms in making incendiary speeches to the crowd, even warning about more of such demonstrations.
As Armed Forces veterans’ National Patriots Association (Patriot) president Brig Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji voiced fittingly, the rally was contrary to racial unity and religious harmony.
He said although the government had already given in to the demands of the organisers, they cunningly changed the rally’s purpose “to show gratitude” for the decision but displayed no such intention on Dec 8.
“Instead of rallying the various races into one united Malaysian people, it was all about the supremacy of the Malays and Islam, which they claimed was eroded and threatened by the new Pakatan government,” he said, urging
When people are gripped by fears or threats, they are more prone to be manipulated by leaders who promise protection or salvation.
politicians to stop making racial and religious speeches that could cause fear or hatred.
The messages on T-shirts, banners, and bandanas tied on heads of participants were all about protecting the rights of bumiputras and the position of Islam in Malaysia but based on video interviews of those in the crowd, a few of which have since gone viral, there was little understanding of the UN treaty.
The general view was that the UN convention is anti-Malay, anti-Constitution and anti-Islam, never mind the fact that 179 countries had already ratified it, including 55 of the 57 nations in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Among them are Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Palestine. The exceptions are Malaysia and Brunei.
Going by the logic of the organisers, it appears that 99% of 1.9 billion faithful in the world are less Islamic than Malay Muslims.
Only 14 countries have yet to accede to the Icerd, with Malaysia in that category with the likes of North Korea, South Sudan, Dominica and a host of tiny Pacific island nations.
Although the convention makes clear distinctions between discriminatory practices and affirmative action programmes to help disadvantaged communities, the organisers succeeded in stoking the fears of Icerd causing the closure of Mara, its residential schools, UiTM, the eradication of Malay reserve lands and the removal of other rights of Malays and bumiputras.
Persuading people on this was not too difficult because they tend to protect their most deeply held beliefs by confirmation bias – seeking out supporting evidence and discounting that which is contrary, even if it is right.
But the big turnout at the rally has showed that Umno, which lost power after six decades, and its new ally of PAS can still instil old fears and tap into new anxieties of the Malays, especially those in the rural heartland.
This is compounded by the reality that Pakatan still trails behind Umno and PAS in terms of Malay support, despite winning the general election.
When people are gripped by fears of threats, whether actual or illusory, they are more prone to be manipulated by leaders who promise protection or salvation.
The road ahead for real democratic transformation is going to be long and arduous for the Pakatan government.
It must not lose the political will to engage and educate Malaysians towards real national unity and away from discrimination, suspicions and hatred.