EXCLUSIVE | Soon after its historic win in the last general election, the Pakatan Harapan administration found itself in a conundrum with issues concerning race and religion, which its political rivals did not hesitate to exploit.

While this motif of Malaysian politics dates back decades, the latest turmoil began in late 2018 with protests against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) over concerns that ratifying it would result in the erosion of bumiputera privileges.

Two more protests - over the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim - further...