Stop making racial and religious speeches — Patriot
PETALING JAYA: The rally opposing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) did not build racial unity and harmony among Malaysians, says the National Patriots Association (Patriot).
“Many felt the rally was not necessary because the government had relented to the demands of the organisers not to ratify Icerd,” said its president Brig Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji.
He added that the organisers cunningly changed the purpose of the rally, supposedly to show gratitude to the government for not ratifying the UN convention.
Mohamed Arshad said the speeches by various Umno and PAS leaders during the rally showed the organisers had no intention to honour their words to show gratitude and thank the Pakatan Harapan government for its decision to not ratify Icerd.
“Instead of rallying the various races into one united Malaysian people, the rally was all about the supremacy of the Malays and Islam that they claimed was eroded and threatened by the new Pakatan government,” said Mohamed Arshad in a statement yesterday.
He urged political leaders to stop making racial and religious speeches that could cause fear and hatred among Malaysians, adding that they should instead pray for love, peace and harmony to prevail for the benefit of the country and future generations.
“This had been the mantra played by Umno and PAS leaders to retain power in the past, but it failed miserably during GE14 because of the massive corruption and abuse of power by the very same leaders who claimed the Malays and Islam had been threatened,” he said.
Last Saturday (Dec 8), a rally was held to celebrate the government’s decision not to ratify the United Nations convention.
The government had previously decided not to ratify Icerd amid rising protests by opponents who claimed that the United Nations human rights agreement would jeopardise the special rights of Malays and bumiputras in the country.