Despite Umno, PAS and other Malay right wings calling for a 500,000-strong crowd to attend the anti-International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) rally against Pakatan Harapan, the cabinet will not impose any heavy-handed measure on them.
While the rally is considered as having the potential to create chaos, three government sources said the cabinet is not perturbed about it.
A minister, who requested anonymity, said the cabinet meeting tomorrow would not discuss any move to halt the rally.
“I think the cabinet meeting won’t discuss how to block anti-Icerd rally. We have talked about the rally and said it will proceed,” the source told Malaysiakini.
No matter the size of the crowd, the government has the plan to encounter if any problems are caused.
“If the crowd is small, we can say the rally has failed. If the crowd is big, we can say we are more democratic and better than the BN during its era. We don’t go against rallies.”
Agreeing with this argument, another minister said the authorities would take action if any chaos occurs.
‘We are not afraid of them creating a riot’
“We are not afraid of them creating a riot during the anti-Icerd rally. If they want to make fuss, we will just take the action necessary,” the minister said.
A deputy minister pointed out that the relevant government agencies have coordinated to facilitate rally.
“I don’t think it will become an issue. All agencies have been coordinating to ensure a peaceful assembly. The police will take action if necessary.”
During the BN era, the police would have taken action against the organisers prior to the holding of a rally. In 2015, police arrested Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah before the Bersih 5 rally was held.
Two days ago, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man predicted that more than half-a-million people would turn up for the anti-Icerd gathering.
He said Umno is expected to mobilise some 200,000 people and PAS, some 300,000 people.
Various quarters have urged the organisers to cancel the gathering over concerns that it could ignite racial tension.
Kelantan mufti Mohamad Shukri Mohamad and Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor also said there was no need to hold the gathering since the government has decided against ratifying the convention.
A holiday? PAS under pressure to ensure mammoth turnout
‘Imagine a state giving a public holiday so that Kelatanese can attend a demonstration in KL.’
Gerard Lourdesamy: This is a total abuse of power. Imagine a state giving a public holiday so that party members and supporters can attend a political demonstration in another state. Utter disgrace.
Jehangirl: Yes, what an abuse of power. A demonstration is not a festival and does not occasion a public holiday. This shows how desperate you are to get the crowd.
Are you also using your state revenues to pay for people to travel to the demonstration?
Never Too Late: This shows the true colours of the state’s call to ‘membangun bersama Islam’ (rise with Islam).
They prefer to waste time and money, instead of tackling state unemployment issues, drug addiction among youths, lack of development, et cetera.
It is a shame they are using religion and Islam as propaganda to get uninformed Muslims to support them.
Demi Rakyat: This is is a joke! Declaring a public holiday for people to attend a protest? The protest is nothing about being Malay or Muslim. This is all about politics, racist politics.
What else can we call it? It’s about supporting discrimination against minorities of other races and religion.
StraightTalk: Indeed, a meaningless rally and a wasteful holiday. If this is how Umno and PAS leaders want to take this nation forward, let it be.
But after the rally and holiday, all those who participated in the event should come to their senses and think if the nation benefited anything at all from their actions.
Anonymous 770241447347646: One day of productivity wasted. This cost millions of ringgit.
A state that cannot even pay its salaries, yet give a day holiday for their own personal agenda.
Cicak Boy: And while the Kelantanese are busy enjoying their holiday or demonstrating in Kuala Lumpur, other Malaysians will be working over the weekend to pay taxes so that the PAS government in Kelantan can pay its staff salaries and pay maintenance for the menteri besar’s car.
Tholu: The Malays in Umno, PAS and Malay-based NGOs are vehemently protesting against the equal social, economy and political treatment of all other races in our nation and yet you want those whom you want to deprive such equal rights to join in the protest.
In other words, you want the non-Malays to support the unjustified and discriminatory policies stemming from a constitution that was drafted 61 years ago.
Unspin: It is acceptable if PAS and Umno want to hold an anti-Icerd rally because they are entitled to their views.
But what is not acceptable is to celebrate the government’s decision not to proceed with the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) because the bottom line is that they are celebrating racism.
Once again, these jokers make us the laughing stock of the world.
Drngsc: Icerd programme director Kamaruzaman Mohamad, look in the mirror and see who the traitors are.
Are they not those who steal from the people to enrich themselves and impoverish the people? Are they not those who are traitors to their religion when they steal from pilgrims?
Are they not those who put our good soldiers in harm’s way, just for their own self-image? Are they not those who wish to continue to make their own dependent on crutches so that their own cannot ever become independent without them?
Please take a good look in the mirror and see the truth.
6th Generation Immigrant: This objective and aim – that the rally against Icerd is against traitors – is an afterthought, derived not only from blinkered but totally blinded views.
One can surely see that PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad had plucked the wind out of their sails, while racism is also strongly criticised by thinking citizens. However, these protesters are huffing and puffing to keep their scheme of racism alive.
Kelantan has also declared Dec 9 a holiday. Clearly, a cancellation is more appropriate to save face.
Ed: The pressure is on the organisers to get the numbers they seek.
Just imagine the embarrassment if the numbers are in the tens of thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands, or like someone said, half a million is expected to show up.
Does this beg the question of what the real underlying message is? I do not think it is racial. It is likely more political in the face of the recent loss in the general election.
Let them vent out some hot air in a peaceful manner. They are the actors and the majority of the population are the audience; the pressure is on the actors. I am certain the police will keep things in check.
Cogito Ergo Sum: The biggest traitors to ‘bangsa, agama dan negara’ (race, religion and country) is Umno itself.
Your leaders are facing numerous charges of stealing from the rakyat and bankrupting the nation. So how can you organise a rally against yourself?
Divided, you will fall. And you have already fallen. So this rally must be something else. Whipping up failing support by creating a monster out of ‘pendatangs’ (immigrants).
Anonymous 2293481434643651: Icerd programme director Kamaruzaman, do you know what you are on about?
“Traitors of the nation” are those leaders who are alleged thieves, who stole and looted billions of our national wealth without any morals or credibility left in them.
Why are you not rallying against those alleged crooks who are the ‘pagar makan padi’ (putting one’s hope in someone deemed trustworthy, only to be betrayed)?
May the Almighty God by his power intervene in your rally to make you realise that there is no need for such a rally to proceed.
Why do you want to create animosity? Don’t you want to live in peace? Can’t you live in harmony? Can’t you talk about being a Malaysian rather than differentiating races?
Speaking Sense: A lie by any other name is still a lie, and Kamaruzaman should be called out for it.
Ratifying Icerd has nothing to do with compromising the constitution. It is to affirm that everyone has equal rights under the constitution, not that some race or group has more rights than others.
How can it be any other way, unless Kamaruzaman thinks some people should be more equal than others, which is what discrimination is, and which is what Icerd is intended to prevent.
MKINI
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