KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — Participants of the anti-ICERD ‘thanksgiving’ rally have started to march from their assembly points towards Dataran Merdeka.

From Masjid Negara, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is leading the march towards Dataran Merdeka after performing his Zohor prayers.

Zahid was accompanied by Umno’s Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Rahman and his daughter.

The PAS mentri besar for Kelantan and Terengganu began their march slightly later and were followed by student activist groups.

From Sogo, the demonstrators were led by PAS Amal security team and a pickup truck mounted with a loudspeaker on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

Riled up by chants of "Hidup Muslim”, the crowd blew their horns and chanted all the way before converging with the rest of the crowd at the historic square.

Anti-ICERD rally-goers march from Sogo to Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur December 8, 2018. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

Another large group of demonstrators has also started moving from Masjid Jamek towards the main venue along Jalan Raja.

As the rally goers converged, announcements were made by the organisers to remind them not to make any provocative remarks or speeches.

The approximately 10,000 volunteer security personnel were also told to be on the alert for such remarks.

Participants shout slogans during the anti-ICERD rally in Kuala Lumpur December 8, 2018. — Picture by Mukhriz Hazim

Altogether, Malaysia’s most historical square saw a tide of white flooding it and the surrounding areas as tens of thousands of Malay-Muslims got together in support of the government’s decision not to ratify the United Nations’ International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

The rally, which targeted a turnout of 500,000 people, is organised by Umno, PAS, a coalition of Malay-Muslim groups Ummah and the newly-formed National Sovereignty Secretariat (Daulat).

Anti-ICERD rally-goers march from Sogo to Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur December 8, 2018. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

The rally will hold a ‘selawat kesyukuran’ (thanksgiving prayers) and end with speeches by leaders of Umno, PAS and the other non-governmental organisations involved.

The crowd is expected to disperse at 6pm.

Anti-ICERD protesters gather near Masjid Jamek LRT station in Kuala Lumpur December 8, 2018. — Picture by Mukhriz Hazim