Near impossible to implement race discrimination convention: Mahathir
Mahathir: M'sian Constitution must be amended to ratify ICERD, needing two-thirds majority in Parliament
PORT MORESBY It will be nearly impossible for Malaysia to implement an international convention against racial discrimination, said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The federal Constitution has to be amended for Malaysia to accept the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), he said.
Doing that would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Dr Mahathir told Malaysian media after concluding his two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trip yesterday, the New Straits Times reported.
This is almost impossible given the current make-up of Parliament, as well as the reaction from both the opposition and government members to the matter, he added.
Senior officials of Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties such as Mr Mukhriz Mahathir and Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman were reportedly against ICERD if constitutional rights and national harmony were affected.
Top leaders from PH and the opposition Umno, meanwhile, reportedly agreed to hold a joint rally on Dec 8 to protest against plans to ratify it, the New Straits Times reported.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday warned that the Malay-Muslim community would "run amok" to protest against the government's pledge to ratify ICERD.
In response, Dr Mahathir assured the public that no chaos would erupt, unless instigated by the Umno president.
"Unless Zahid stirs up trouble, there will be no riot over ICERD," he stressed.
SENSITIVE
Dr Mahathir said ICERD was sensitive to the Malays.
"We can discuss the matter because we are not rejecting the views of the people," he said.
"In my speech at the United Nations (General Assembly in September), I mentioned the complexity of ICERD but we didn't commit about implementing it, fully or partially."
Malaysia is among a handful of countries that have neither signed nor ratified the treaty.
The treaty provides individuals worldwide with a mechanism for complaints over issues of racial discrimination, among others, and is enforceable against member states, the New Straits Times reported.
In a separate development, Mr Zahid called for a merger between Umno and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).
"Let us set aside our differences in the name of Islam, Malays, Malaysia and bumiputra and merge," the Star quoted him as saying.
"It was a mistake for us to fight each other," he said, adding that he would be willing to lead the merger.
He said this at a gathering to oppose the ratification of the ICERD at Kampung Gajah on Saturday night.
Mr Zahid also said that a "grandfather" was to be blamed for Umno's hate towards PAS, taking a jab at Dr Mahathir. "He taught us to hate PAS, DAP (Democratic Action Party), and other parties but now they are together. We have been lied to for 22 years," Mr Zahid claimed.
The proposal for the merger was not mentioned by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in his speech at the event.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now