Umno and PAS members, and NGOs, attend an ICERD protest in Kampung Gajah, Perak November 17, 2018. — Picture by Farhan Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang has lambasted PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang for suggesting that all Muslims must reject the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

The Iskandar Puteri MP said 36 Muslim-majority countries — comprising roughly 99 per cent of the global Muslim population — have ratified the United Nations convention, with Malaysia and Brunei as glaring exceptions.

“Malaysia and Brunei are among the 14 countries which have not ratified the ICERD. Malaysia has about 19 million Muslims and Brunei 350,000 Muslims.

“Even China, which has about 50 million Muslims, has acceded to ICERD in 1981,” he said in a statement.

“Is Hadi suggesting that 99 per cent of Muslims in the world who are from countries that have ratified or acceded to ICERD are not genuine Muslims?” he asked.

There are at least 1.9 billion Muslims in the world. Muslims in Malaysia would make up just around 0.01 per cent of that number.

Malaysia is among the 14 countries in the world yet to accede to the ICERD, which has been ratified by numerous Muslim-majority countries, such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Jordan.

Malay-Muslim groups continue to oppose the government’s plan to formalise the convention, arguing that doing so will strip the Bumiputera community of its constitutional safeguards and privileges.