Perak Amanah rep heckled by anti-Icerd crowd

A Perak Pakatan Harapan assemblyperson was heckled off stage after being dared to address an anti-Icerd crowd yesterday.

Relating the incident to Malaysiakini, Titi Serong assemblyperson Hasnul Zulkarnain Abd Munaim said the rally took place after Friday prayers in Kuala Kangsar.

A speaker at the rally then challenged the Amanah rep to address the crowd, which Hasnul said he did so reluctantly.

"I used the platform to raise awareness that the Quran teaches how we must be good to other races, and not create tension," he said.

He said he then emphasised how the biggest issue at the moment was the 1MDB scandal.

However, two minutes into his speech, the crowd turned on him, heckling and cursing him.

Hasnul said he then ended his speech to avoid any untoward incident.

Icerd is short for the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Ratifying Icerd has been a heated issue in Malaysia, with bumiputera groups opposing the idea, as they consider the convention a threat to the Federal Constitution, which has special provisions for bumiputera.

The matter of ratifying Icerd cropped up after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the UN general assembly in September that Malaysia would ratify all remaining human rights conventions.

The government, however, said yesterday that it was spiking plans to ratify Icerd. - Mkini