PM must be Muslim as long there is a Malay Ruler, says Perkasa leader

Zaira (centre) admitted that there are no provisions in the constitution which state that the prime minister must be a Muslim.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Perkasa insisted today that the prime minister must be Malay-Muslim even though there is no constitutional criterion for the race and religion of the head of government.

Perkasa women’s wing youth chief Zaira Jaafar argued today that as long as the federal constitution ensures the sovereignty of the Malay rulers, then the country’s prime minister must be a Muslim.

She explained that while there are no provisions in the constitution which state that the prime minister must be a Muslim, it was implied.

She said that the constitution, if understood holistically, implies the prime minister must be Muslim.

“If we refer in the constitution then a prime minister does not have to be a Muslim but the provision must be read together and not separately because the articles are all interconnected. Under Article 181 on the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers, we understand that a king has to be a Malay and professes Islam” she told reporters after lodging a police report on Utusan Malaysia’s article that Christian leaders wanted to abolish Islam as the official religion.

Utusan carried a front-page article on Saturday claiming that the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.

The report, based on blog postings by several pro-Umno bloggers, had charged the DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister, pointing to a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.

The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), together with partners Global Day of Prayer, Marketplace Penang and Penang Pastors Fellowship, said the claims against their community were lies, and has refuted the bloggers’ allegations.

Similarly, DAP leaders have denied the report and have accused Utusan of lying and have lodged police reports over the matter.

Meanwhile, law expert Prof Abdul Aziz Bari said that having a Malay prime minister was not necessary in order for Islam and Malay rights to be protected.

He said that even a non-Muslim prime minister could safeguard Malay-Muslims as long as the individual abided by the federal constitution.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called for calm and to allow the matter to be investigated first before making conclusions.

Zaira denied that Perkasa was defying Najib and was exploiting the issue, stressing that the group only wanted to know if the allegations were true.

“We have seen many police reports that have been lodged and we are taking the same steps today because this is a big issue and we know that many have yet to understand the federal constitution. Many read but many also do not understand.

“It is not that we want to exploit the issue but we want to police to take action. We want to know if what have been reported is true. If it is true then this is a very big problem,” she said.

Zaira admitted that Islam was not the official religion but since it was the religion of the state therefore it precedes other faiths.

“They need to understand and accept the fact Islam is not the official religion but Islam is the religion of the federation and it is impossible to change that. Islam is placed in a special position, the highest, and is protected especially in the constitution, through its by-laws, and by the Malay Rulers.

“The the federal constitution is the highest constitution in Malaysia and Islam is the federation’s religion so it makes Islam higher than other religion but other groups are free to practise their own religion,” she said.

Article 3(1) of the federal constitution does not position Islam as the “official” religion of the country.

It only states that “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.”

Likewise, the federal constitution does not expressly specify race or religious requirements for the position of prime minister.

Article 43(2)(a) of the constitution states only that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint as PM a member of Parliament who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat.