ICERD reversal and rally
In late 2018 the Pakatan Harapan government dropped its stated plan to accede to a United Nations treaty on racial discrimination, and two weeks later a mass gathering in Kuala Lumpur that had been called to oppose that plan went ahead anyway.
what happened
In September 2018, four months after the general election that changed the federal government, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told the UN General Assembly that Malaysia would ratify the core human rights instruments it had not yet adopted. One of those was ICERD, a convention in force since January 1969 that Malaysia has never joined. Through October and November the prospect of accession became a national argument, and it turned on Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which directs the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities. — —
The legal question was whether the treaty and the Article could sit together. Andrew Khoo of the Bar Council constitutional law committee argued in late October that they could, pointing to ICERD Article 1(4) and Article 2(2), which say that special measures for the advancement of particular groups are not to be counted as racial discrimination, subject to conditions. The Malaysian Bar took the same position publicly on 9 November. Mahathir put the opposite view in practical terms, saying that ratification would involve amending the Constitution and that the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed for that was almost impossible to assemble. Both readings are on the record; neither has been settled by a court, and this page does not choose between them. The surrounding legal environment also matters: under the Sedition Act 1948 as amended after 1969, questioning matters protected by Article 153 can itself attract criminal liability, which shapes how the subject is discussed in public. — — —
Opposition moved through institutions as well as speeches. On 21 November the Pahang state assembly passed a motion against accession; Perak said the following day it would defer to Putrajaya. On 23 November the Prime Minister's Office announced that the government would not ratify ICERD and would continue to defend the Federal Constitution. — —
A rally against ratification had already been called for 8 December. Rather than cancel it, the organisers, UMNO and PAS together with Malay-Muslim non-governmental organisations, recast it as a thanksgiving gathering. Participants assembled at the Putra World Trade Centre, the National Mosque, Masjid Jamek and Sogo and marched towards Dataran Merdeka. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Abdul Hadi Awang, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and Najib Razak were among those present, and the day ended without reported arrests or violence. How many attended is genuinely unresolved: Kuala Lumpur police said about 55,000, Zahid said at least 500,000, Free Malaysia Today reported more than 30,000, Malay Mail reporters judged the peak at roughly double the police figure, and the academic Hew Wai Weng put it at around 60,000. — — — —
What the day meant is likewise contested. Hew Wai Weng described it as a new configuration of older politics of race and religion after the 2018 election, and as a strategic alignment rather than a single shared programme. Zahid described the UMNO-PAS cooperation as resting on Malay and Islam-related issues. Within the governing coalition, participants later disagreed about who had driven the ratification plan in the first place: Anthony Loke said in April 2021 that the idea had been Saifuddin Abdullah's rather than DAP's, Saifuddin replied that he had not been the minister responsible for ICERD even though the commitment was in the coalition's manifesto and in Mahathir's UN speech, and Lim Kit Siang had said in 2020 that pursuing ratification was a mistake. No official record settling the point has been published. Malaysia has not acceded to ICERD; SUHAKAM recorded its disappointment in March 2019 and said it would continue to press the case. — — — — —
the working
What the sources say
established
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) entered into force on 4 January 1969, and Malaysia is not recorded as a signatory or party to it in the United Nations depositary list
established
ICERD Article 1(4) provides that "special measures" taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups requiring protection are not deemed racial discrimination, provided they do not lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different racial groups and are not continued after their objectives have been achieved; ICERD Article 2(2) permits "special and concrete measures" to ensure the adequate development and protection of certain racial groups
ICERD Articles 1(4) and 2(2) as quoted by Andrew Khoo · Malaysian Bar statement
established
Article 153(1) of the Federal Constitution requires the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to "safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities," and the Article operates through reservations of quotas in the public service, in education, and in permits and licences for trade or business
established
Public discussion of Article 153 sits inside a specific legal frame: the Sedition Act 1948, as amended after 1969, treats as seditious a tendency to question matters, rights, status, positions, privileges, sovereignty or prerogatives established or protected by Part III of the Constitution or by Articles 152, 153 or 181
established
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad addressed the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in September 2018 and said Malaysia would ratify the remaining core human rights instruments it had not yet adopted
[Speech text] Dr Mahathir at 73rd UN General Assembly · Malaysian Prime Minister paints dismal world picture
established
On 15 November 2018 Mahathir said publicly that ratifying conventions such as ICERD would not be easy but that Putrajaya intended to proceed
established
On 21 November 2018 the Pahang state assembly passed a motion opposing accession to ICERD; Perak subsequently said it would leave the question to the federal government
Pahang state assembly unanimously rejects Putrajaya's bid to ratify ICERD · Perak says will leave ICERD to Putrajaya after Pahang voted to oppose
established
On 23 November 2018 the Prime Minister's Office announced that the government would not ratify ICERD and would continue to defend the Federal Constitution
Govt not ratifying ICERD · Malaysia's Mahathir dumps pledge to ratify UN treaty on racial discrimination amid domestic backlash
established
Mahathir stated that implementing ICERD would be "almost impossible" because it would involve amending the Federal Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament that the government did not hold
Mahathir: Almost impossible to implement Icerd · Dr Mahathir says implementing ICERD 'almost impossible'
established
After the government's announcement, Mahathir had earlier said publicly that he did not expect unrest over ICERD, in comments reported on 18 November 2018
established
The rally, held on 8 December 2018 in the area around Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, was organised by UMNO and PAS together with Malay-Muslim non-governmental organisations
established
After the 23 November announcement, the organisers rebranded the planned protest as a thanksgiving gathering rather than cancelling it
Report: Anti-ICERD rally on Dec 8 now a celebratory gathering · Three things we learnt about: The anti-ICERD demonstration
established
Participants assembled at several points, including the Putra World Trade Centre, the National Mosque, Masjid Jamek and Sogo, and marched towards Dataran Merdeka; UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and former prime minister Najib Razak were among those present
established
The gathering ended without reported arrests or violence
Anti-ICERD rally ends without a hitch despite rain · Malay Mail
established
Before the event, UMNO and PAS leaders publicly projected a turnout of about 500,000
PAS and Umno claim half a million people will attend anti-Icerd rally · Some 700k Umno
established
Malaysia had still not acceded to ICERD as of March 2019, when the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) publicly recorded its disappointment at the decision
Suhakam disappointed Malaysia refuses to uphold ICERD · UN Treaty Collection depositary status
established
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and Minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa publicly described the Cabinet’s 23 November 2018 decision not to ratify ICERD as unanimous; no public Cabinet minute or other internal record independently verifies unanimity.
established
UMNO’s 2019 secretary-general report identified the anti-ICERD gathering among the steps that strengthened UMNO–PAS cooperation and said that effort culminated in the 14 September 2019 Muafakat Nasional gathering; this is UMNO’s account of the connection.
where accounts differ
The parts nobody agrees on
contested
How many people attended on 8 December 2018 is disputed, and the figures come from different kinds of observers: Kuala Lumpur police put the crowd at about 55,000; UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said at least 500,000 were present; Free Malaysia Today reported more than 30,000; Malay Mail reporters wrote that the peak crowd appeared to be at least double the police figure; Hew Wai Weng of IKMAS, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, wrote that around 60,000 assembled
contested
Whether acceding to ICERD would have required any change to Article 153 is a disputed legal interpretation. Andrew Khoo, then co-chair of the Bar Council constitutional law committee, argued that Article 153 is compatible with ICERD even without reservations, because ICERD Articles 1(4) and 2(2) permit special measures. The Malaysian Bar, through then-president George Varughese, stated on 9 November 2018 that "there is thus no contradiction between ICERD and Article 153 of the Federal Constitution." Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, by contrast, said ratification would involve amending the Federal Constitution and was therefore almost impossible without a two-thirds parliamentary majority. This page does not resolve which reading is correct
contested
What the 8 December gathering signified is characterised differently by different analysts. Hew Wai Weng (IKMAS, UKM) described it as "a new configuration of old politics of race and religion in post-GE14 Malaysia" and as a strategic alignment of PAS, UMNO and ISMA against Amanah, Bersatu and IKRAM, driven by accumulated grievances rather than a single ideological programme. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi described the cooperation between UMNO and PAS as based on Malay and Islam-related issues
contested
Who inside the Pakatan Harapan government drove the original ratification plan is disputed by the participants themselves. In April 2021 DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke said the idea of ratifying ICERD and the Rome Statute was Saifuddin Abdullah's rather than DAP's. Saifuddin, who had been foreign minister at the time of the pledge, replied that ratifying human-rights conventions was in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto and was raised by Mahathir at the UN in 2018, but that "I was not the minister responsible for ICERD"; he separately accepted responsibility for the Rome Statute decisions, which he said were made in Cabinet. Lim Kit Siang, separately, said in 2020 that pursuing ICERD ratification had been a mistake. No official record of who originated the proposal has been published
Saifuddin says idea to ratify ICERD was not his · Saifuddin: I was not minister responsible for ICERD · Kit Siang concedes ICERD ratification was blunder
uncertain
How far media framing shaped public understanding of ICERD is a subject of ongoing scholarship rather than settled fact; studies of Malaysian English-language and online reporting analyse competing representations of the ratification question
Contesting Views in the Representation of ICERD Ratification in English Language Newspapers · ICERD in Malaysian online news reports: Analysis of rhetoric and public opinion
still being researched
- Whether a public Cabinet record independently confirms the ministers’ description of the ICERD decision as unanimous.
- Whether the government had drafted specific reservations or interpretative declarations to accompany accession, and what they said.