The Malaysian government has declared it will not ratify a United Nations human rights treaty, after facing anger from Malay and Muslim organisations worried about the dilution of their rights, The Straits Times reports. Ratification would affect Malaysia’s longstanding bumiputera policy that reserves education and job spots for Malays and other indigenous races. There are also concerns that this would also weaken the primacy of Islam in the country and the special position enjoyed by the nine Malay royal houses. In July, close to 2,000 supporters of Malay political parties and groups gathered at a rally in Kampung Baru, a symbolic Malay enclave of Malaysia’s capital city, claiming that their racial and religious interests are under threat following the rise of the Pakatan Harapan government under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.