Verbal war over Icerd should not distract Putrajaya's focus - Anwar

The polemics surrounding the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) should not distract the government's focus on more pressing issues, according to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

He said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and him believe that the issue must be explained to the people in order to negate the perception that the elites would make a decision on Icerd without involving them.

"So we shall not let this 'restlessness' (keresahan) continue. What we are doing now is reforming the country's economic institutions, generating economic growth and the distribution of wealth.

"These are the priorities that would be set aside because we are busy (debating) on whether the Malays would lose their special rights. For me, this is a waste of time," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur after delivering a lecture at Universiti Malaya today.

Earlier, Anwar told the audience that Malaysia cannot reject outright the call to ratify Icerd, stating that there must be room for discussion to determine if the convention is compatible.

"As a member of the international community, we cannot say no to it at the very start. We must start by stating that we will present the matter, debate it, and see its compatibility.

"Firstly, we are anti-discrimination, (and) the core of Malay (culture) and Islam is to memuliakan insan (enshrine humanity). And in our country, all citizens have the same rights, so we are against the oppression of religion and race.

"We have to be clear (about our stand on discrimination). How can we spontaneously reject it when 100 countries have adopted (Icerd) and we do not," he added.

 Anwar said the decision to postpone the ratification of Icerd was to allow room for discussion as opposed to bulldozing it through.

Acknowledging the concerns of the Malay-Muslim community, he said this is because the status of Islam, the Malay rulers, Bahasa Melayu, and special Bumiputera privileges were agreed to in a collective manner and became integral elements of the social contract.

"For me, I am anti-discrimination, I do not agree with racism.

“I want all Malaysians, the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sabahans and Sarawakians to feel they have the same right to develop our country.

"But I also want to stress that Islam as the federal religion is something that must be appreciated (dihayati), developed, and given more understanding," he added.

Anwar said it is Pakatan Harapan's stand that the ratification of Icerd must be discussed in a thorough manner, and ratification of the convention would be considered when it is certain that it would not jeopardise the status of Islam and Malay special rights. - Mkini