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.
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:
- 21 November 2018the Pahang state assembly passed a motion against accession.
- 22 November 2018Perak said it would defer to Putrajaya.
- 23 November 2018the 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.
- Hew Wai Weng
- the academic, 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.
- 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. — — — — —
What the sources say
The treaty and the constitutional provisions in dispute
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
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 KhooMalaysian Bar statement
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
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
The pledge and the reversal
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 AssemblyMalaysian Prime Minister paints dismal world picture
15 November 2018
On 15 November 2018 Mahathir said publicly that ratifying conventions such as ICERD would not be easy but that Putrajaya intended to proceed
21 November 2018
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 ICERDPerak says will leave ICERD to Putrajaya after Pahang voted to oppose
23 November 2018
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 ICERDMalaysia's Mahathir dumps pledge to ratify UN treaty on racial discrimination amid domestic backlash
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 IcerdDr Mahathir says implementing ICERD 'almost impossible'
18 November 2018
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
The 8 December 2018 gathering
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
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 gatheringThree things we learnt about: The anti-ICERD demonstration
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
The gathering ended without reported arrests or violence
Anti-ICERD rally ends without a hitch despite rainMalay Mail
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 rallySome 700k Umno
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 ICERDUN Treaty Collection depositary status
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.
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
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
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.
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
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 hisSaifuddin: I was not minister responsible for ICERDKit Siang concedes ICERD ratification was blunder
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 NewspapersICERD in Malaysian online news reports: Analysis of rhetoric and public opinion
Common questions
What was ICERD, and had Malaysia joined it?
ICERD is the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a United Nations treaty that entered into force on 4 January 1969. Malaysia was not recorded as a signatory or party on the UN depositary list. Its provisions include allowances for certain special measures intended to advance racial or ethnic groups needing protection, subject to conditions.
UN Treaty CollectionICERD Articles 1(4) and 2(2) as quoted by Andrew Khoo
Why did Malaysia stop the plan to join ICERD?
The Prime Minister's Office announced on 23 November 2018 that the government would not ratify ICERD and would continue to defend the Federal Constitution. Earlier, Mahathir Mohamad had said Putrajaya intended to ratify conventions such as ICERD, while the Pahang state assembly passed a motion opposing accession on 21 November.
Govt not ratifying ICERDPahang state assembly unanimously rejects Putrajaya's bid to ratify ICERD
Would joining ICERD have needed a constitutional amendment?
There was no single agreed answer. Andrew Khoo and the Malaysian Bar said Article 153 could sit with ICERD because the treaty permits certain special measures, while Mahathir said ratification would involve amending the Federal Constitution and require a two-thirds parliamentary majority the government did not have.
Andrew KhooBar: Ratifying ICERD won't violate constitutionMahathir: Almost impossible to implement Icerd
Why did the 8 December rally still happen?
It went ahead after the government withdrew the ratification plan because its organisers recast it as a thanksgiving gathering rather than cancelling it. UMNO and PAS organised the gathering with Malay-Muslim non-governmental organisations, and it took place around Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.
Report: Anti-ICERD rally on Dec 8 now a celebratory gatheringPas
How many people went to the anti-ICERD rally?
The number is disputed. Kuala Lumpur police put the crowd at about 55,000, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said at least 500,000 attended, Free Malaysia Today reported more than 30,000, and academic Hew Wai Weng wrote that around 60,000 assembled.
Did Malaysia ever join ICERD after the reversal?
No. Malaysia had still not acceded to ICERD in March 2019, when the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, SUHAKAM, recorded its disappointment at the decision. The UN depositary list also recorded Malaysia as neither a signatory nor a party.
Suhakam disappointed Malaysia refuses to uphold ICERDUN Treaty Collection depositary status
Still open
- 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.