The National Patriots Association (Patriot) has questioned how the rally against the ratification of the International Convention on The Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) had been called a “thanksgiving” gathering to show gratitude to the government for not signing the United Nations treaty.
In a statement, the group of former servicemen said it was clear from the speeches given at the rally that the organisers had “no intention” of thanking the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government for its decision not to ratify the ICERD.
Instead, it said, they had turned it into a “political rally filled with speeches with racial and religious undertones”.
Patriot president Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji also said the rally had failed to build racial unity and harmony between the different ethnic groups.
“Instead of rallying the various races into one united Malaysian people, the rally was all about the supremacy of the Malays and Islam that they claimed have been eroded and are apparently under threat by the new PH government.
“Even the prayer recited by the ustaz at the close of the rally was inappropriate to the occasion. He prayed for the PH government’s stay in power to be short-lived and for all those who voted for the PH government to cast their vote for Barisan Nasional/Umno during the next election.
“A prayer should be for peace and harmony, and one with political undertones has no place in religion.”
Reportedly, some 50,000 people turned up at the rally which saw speeches by PAS and Umno leaders such as Abdul Hadi Awang, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“Many felt the rally was not necessary because the government had relented to the demands of the organisers not to ratify ICERD.
“Despite this, the organisers cunningly changed the purpose of the rally into a political rally, it was initially supposed to show gratitude to the government for not ratifying United Nations convention,“ he said in a statement today.
Arshad said that having listened to the speeches by various Umno and PAS leaders, it was clear the organisers had no intention of honouring their words to show gratitude and thanks towards the PH government in its decision not to ratify ICERD.
He pointed out that this mantra was played by Umno and PAS leaders to retain power in the past, but had failed miserably during the last general election because of the massive corruption and abuse of power by the very same leaders who claimed the Malays and Islam were threatened.
He said it was disgusting to see leaders who are facing serious charges for corruption, money laundering and abuse of power having the audacity to face the crowd while appearing completely unremorseful.
Arshad said political leaders must stop making speeches with racial and religious undertones that could cause fear and hatred among normally peace-loving Malaysians.
He said we should instead pray for love, peace and harmony to prevail for the benefit of the country and future generations.
Meanwhile, the government has been praised for allowing freedom of expression to prevail in the country as witnessed by the anti-ICERD rally.
Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah lauded the government and rally goers for a peaceful rally.
“We congratulate the PH government for allowing freedom of expression and an assembly to happen. This did not happen when the previous Barisan Nasional government was in power. This shows that PH is committed and supports human rights,” she was quoted as saying.