Heads turned and hands clapped as a weary crowd at the Putra World Trade Centre roused itself to welcome former chief justice, Abdul Hamid Mohamad, this evening.
The 75-year-old had arrived earlier at the Umno-owned building via an ambulance on a hospital bed to attend a forum there against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd).
Bedridden after an undisclosed surgery, Hamid was wheeled into the Tun Hussein Onn hall by Tanjung Karang MP Noh Omar.
"I had surgery from the neck down, but (my head) is still okay," the former chief judge told the crowd, who laughed in response.
Though his body was frail, Hamid had a strong message to deliver to the crowd about Icerd.
"We may have won a battle (to reject Icerd) but the war is not over. I believe, groups that are uneasy with the special privileges of the Malays, Sabahan, and Sarawakians, will not stay quiet.
"Even if the prime minister changes, there may be pressure on him from within the government, which are too strong forcing him to do a U-turn. We have seen many U-turns since May 9.
"It is not impossible. Which is why we must be wary and rise again to fight if needed. The government can't give assurance that the convention (Icerd) won't be ratified in the future," he said.
For now, however, Hamid said he was satisfied with Putrajaya's move to pull the plug on Icerd on Friday.
He added that this was an acknowledgement that ratifying Icerd would clash with the Federal Constitution.
Hamid also dismissed allegations that those against Icerd were racist.
"What is strange is that Malays protecting their rights as agreed to and enshrined in the Federal Constitution are called racist, but non-Malays who want to take Malay rights are not racist," he said.
Hamid added that Malaysians should heed by the government's decision to spike Icerd, and stop calling those opposed to it as racists if they want to promote unity. - Mkini
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