KEPALA BATAS, 7 Nov 2018:
The local community has been advised to stop making extreme assumptions over Malaysia’s intention to ratify the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) – as that can lead to negative perceptions on racial interactions in the country.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa yesterday said the government was not in a hurry to hold discussions and would look into the matter in detail.
“In this regard we have to adhere to the advice of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad this matter should be discussed first, not to be rushed and we do not see this to be done in a hurry.”
Mujahid also voiced his concerns over the enthusiasm of certain parties who tried to portray the issue (ICERD) incorrectly, among others – that if signed – the rights of the Malays would be erased.
“In addition to the rights of the Malays, the rights of the Rulers are also said to be abolished as well as Islam and so forth, whereas all these do not arise. Whatever we agree at the international level, the final decision lies with the Parliament.”
He also gave assurance the ICERD agreement would not change the country’s entity either from the constitutional point of view or the culture and so on.
Mujahid said he would hold a roundtable discussion today with the Islamic non-governmental organisations – including the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia to obtain their input and feedback on the matter.
“From there (round table discussion) it may help the prime minister to obtain complete information including from the memorandum submitted by the Gerakan Pembela Ummah at the Parliament building recently.”
Last Wednesday, Dr Mahathir said consultation with all races would be carried out before any decision on ICERD and admitted it would not be an easy matter as Malaysia was a multi-racial country and each race was sensitive to certain issues.
In another development, Mujahid acknowledged there were Bibles distribution among the students in front of a high school in Bukit Mertajam that went viral on social media recently.
After checking with the state Islamic Religious Department, state Education Department and Bukit Mertajam MP, Mujahid said it had been confirmed the incident did occur.
“From the information obtained, the issue is whether an offence has been committed if it was distributed among the Muslims because Article 11 (4) clearly states that other religions are free to be practised but shouldn’t be promoted.
“I would like to advise them not to cause any problems and to adhere to the Constitution.”
He said those who distributed the Bibles were not from the Christian groups or churches but believed to be representatives of an NGO and he advised the NGO against creating problems with the community.
– Bernama