Kit Siang to give statement to cops on ‘non-Malay PM’ remark

 

Lim Kit Siang has denied accusations that he sought to provoke others by saying a non-Malay could be prime minister.

PETALING JAYA: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang will give his statement to the police over a recent speech in which he spoke about the possibility of a non-Malay being appointed prime minister.

In a statement, Lim said he was accused of provocation when he said the Federal Constitution does not bar a non-Malay from being prime minister.

“There was no such intention. The constitution is not a provocative document, (and is) the basis on which Malaysian unity must be founded,” he said.

In his speech to Malaysian students in the United Kingdom last month, The former Iskandar Puteri MP said he hoped Malaysia would not have to wait as long as the United States to have a leader from an ethnic minority.

Lim was referring to former US president Barrack Obama who was elected as the country’s top official, some 230 years after independence.

Lim said Malaysians, regardless of race must share a Malaysian dream and not a mono-ethnic dream. However, he admitted it was unlikely that a non-Malay will become prime minister in the next 100 years.

Umno Supreme Council member Hasmuni Hassan were among those who criticised Lim and said his remarks were hurtful to the Malays.

“Why was it possible to provide in 1957 in the Malayan Constitution, and later in 1963 in the Malaysian Constitution, that a non-Malay could become a prime minister and not be regarded as ‘provocative’?

“But six decades later, it becomes ‘provocative’ to explain what is in the constitution?”, Lim said.

Last week, Lim confirmed that the police had called him in for questioning over the speech he made in the UK. - FMT