Ending the era of "Malay supremacy" is not a solution to push for more equality among Malaysians, a coalition of Malay-Muslim NGOs said today.

Ummah coalition chairperson Aminuddin Yahya said there was no acceptable excuse for any move that could jeopardise Malay and Bumiputera special rights as provided under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

He also insisted that the concept of "Malay supremacy" is equivalent to the supremacy of Islam and that Malaysia is a "Muslim country."

"To uphold our status as a Muslim country, of course, we need Muslims. And Muslims are Malays. So that is what we meant (by upholding Malay rights).

"The issue of (some) Muslims being uneducated (and left behind), that is something that needs to be improved from time to time.

"Not to remove the principle (of Malay supremacy)," said Aminuddin who earlier led a 10-member delegation inside Parliament to hand over a memorandum of objection against Malaysia's plans to ratify the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd).

Aminuddin said this in response to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's remarks this morning that there was no use in Malays chanting the 'Ketuanan Melayu' slogan when in reality they worked as 'kuli' ('coolie', or unskilled labourers) for other races.

Mahathir had also reiterated his criticism of the mentality of subsidy and incentives among Malaysians.

Echoing Aminuddin's stance, Ummah deputy chairperson Kamaruzaman Mohamad blamed the government for the failure of the Malays to compete despite given special privileges.

He said this was as Article 153 has provided the government with room to implement various measures that could help Malays and Bumiputeras to compete with other races in Malaysia.

"If this (Article 153) is not used, causing Malays today to be unable to become entrepreneurs, we ended up as coolies, that's the government's failure to use the opportunity.

"If this room is closed, I'm sure that in 10 or 15 years, the situation will be far worse than it is today," he claimed.

The Ummah coalition and some 100 supporters gathered at Parliament this morning to protest the government's plans to ratify Icerd as part of Malaysia's commitment towards improving its human rights status.

Despite previous reassurances by the government, the groups in their 11-point memorandum received by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Farid Md Rafik, insisted that any plans to ratify Icerd would directly compromise Malay-Muslim rights in Malaysia.