Sabah lawyers give thumbs down to call for only Muslims as PM

 

The Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya. A PAS official has proposed that only Muslims be allowed to become the prime minister.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah lawyers have criticised a PAS leader’s proposal for a constitutional amendment to reserve the post of prime minister for Muslims only.

Yong Yit Jee said the proposal by Khairil Nizam Khirudin, a senator and PAS information chief, was “baseless and fundamentally flawed”.

Yong said the Federal Constitution stipulates only that the prime minister is a MP who commands a majority in the Dewan Rakyat. “It is this concept of majority that is pertinent, not faith,” he told FMT.

In a Facebook post last week, Khairil said his suggestion was made to protect and preserve the sanctity of Islam as the religion of the federation.

He said the state constitutions of Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang also stipulated that only a Muslim could hold the post of menteri besar.

However, Yong said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of Islam under the Federal Constitution, and the protection of Islam and preservation of its sanctity is under his purview. The King is also advised by the respective state Islamic affairs councils.

“Is Khairil implying that the King and the respective councils are not sufficiently protecting the sanctity of Islam?” Yong asked.

Khairil’s suggestion was discriminatory to non-Muslim MPs, he added, and the parliamentary system would be severely undermined if the proposal went ahead.

Another lawyer, Roger Chin, said Khairil’s statement displayed intolerance and an unwillingness to embrace differences.

He said the constitution does not provide for race or religion as a qualification for the prime minister’s post.

Pertubuhan Suara Anak Sabah president Adrian Lasimbang, a former senator, said the proposal was against the spirit of the formation of Malaysia and the freedom of religion, which was one of the main assurances given to Sabah natives by Malaysia’s founding prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra

“What the PAS senator is saying is purely political rhetoric and for their own interests instead of serving Malaysians as a whole,” he said. - FMT