Lim Kit Siang’s remarks in a speech to Malaysian students in the UK last month have landed him in hot water. He said the Federal Constitution does not stop any non-Malay from being the prime minister.
In response, Bersatu youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the constitution should be amended so that only a Malay-Muslim is qualified to be the prime minister.
He then suggested that with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim having a two-thirds majority, this was the best time to amend the constitution so that only a Malay-Muslim can be the prime minister.
Leaders from the Borneo states have criticised the proposal by Wan Fayhsal as being ludicrous.
Sarawak state minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said leaders should abandon ethnocentric perspectives if they want Malaysia to progress and gain international respect.
He said there is a need for the country to move beyond such rhetoric, especially after six decades of independence.
It’s unfortunate to see we still have within our midst leaders who play on racial and religious issues.
The Federal Constitution states that the only requirement for someone to be the prime minister is that he or she must be an MP who, in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s judgment, is likely to command majority support.
Poor understanding of MA63
When Malay leaders such as PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang make statements, they often ignore the two Borneo states – Sabah and Sarawak.
Usno president Pandikar Amin Mulia has said the poor understanding among federal government leaders about the Malaysia Agreement 1963 is one of the contributing factors to the delay in fulfilling Sabah’s demand to fulfil the state’s rights.
He called for federal leaders in Peninsular Malaysia to understand and read up about the Malaysia Agreement and related documents such as the Inter-Governmental Committee report, the Cobbold Commission report, and the 20-Point Agreement.
East Malaysians, irrespective of race and religion, should be given the right to become prime minister one day.
No Malaysia without Sabah and Sarawak
With our oil resources and bigger land mass, Sabah and Sarawak can build an independent country free of racial and religious conflicts.
Wan Fayhsal forgot that the current federal government’s two-thirds majority is only possible because of the support of MPs from Sabah and Sarawak.
The Malay electorate in the Peninsula have booted out corrupt Malay leaders who helmed the country for decades and are now ineffectual in their efforts to form a government of their own.
PAS failed to make the grade
Take PAS for example: with 43 seats, it is the largest single party in the Dewan Rakyat.
By right the party with the largest bloc of seats in the Dewan Rakyat should be able to form the government or be part of the government.
But the constant racial and religious rhetoric of Malay leaders scares people, tourists and investors and has even created a brain drain. Nobody trusts PAS.
Instead of distancing themselves from Wan Fayhsal’s ludicrous statement, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man is backing the Bersatu leader’s statement on proposed amendments to ensure the country’s “stability and harmony”.
In June 2018, PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan said the post of attorney-general must be held by a Muslim, after the nomination of senior lawyer Tommy Thomas for the post of attorney-general.
Nasrudin said that only a Muslim AG will be capable of advising the government on Islamic matters to safeguard the rights and interests of the country’s majority Muslim population.
Competency and meritocracy
In October 2019, Anwar, as PKR president, said the post of finance minister is not meant exclusively for the Malays but for those who are competent at the job.
His response came after Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadli Shaari, a speaker at the Malay Dignity Congress, had called for the position to be helmed by a Malay. It was held by DAP’s Lim Guan Eng at the time.
Anwar responded that Lim, despite being of Chinese origin, was a minister for all Malaysians regardless of race.
Fadli had also called for Malays to hold every top post in the federal and state governments. Among the posts are those of the prime minister, deputy prime minister, the ministers for finance, defence, education and home affairs, as well as heads of the local councils.
In July 2018, Nasrudin claimed that aspirations to strengthen shariah law in the country had been undermined by the appointment of Richard Malanjum, a Christian from Sabah, as Chief Justice of Malaysia.
Nasrudin also claimed that Malanjum’s judicial record showed that he was not sympathetic to Islam in key cases and the well-being of Muslims would now be jeopardised, particularly concerning legal matters.
These remarks received backlash from a lot of East Malaysians.
It is not surprising, therefore, that PAS is now supporting Wan Fayhsal’s racist calls. PAS has been at it for so long and are just repeating the same.
PAS president Hadi, in a statement calling for Islamic supremacy, once said only hell awaits if non-Muslims lead. In another lengthy opinion piece, he said non-Muslims should be grateful that they have been given “a place” in this country.
Anwar dismissed Hadi’s statement by stating that the stability of a government relies more on its policies rather than its ethnic composition. He expressed confidence that many Malays support his administration, saying they care more about good policies than the racial composition of a government.
East Malaysians who are increasingly vocal about their rights are watching this Malay charade closely.
They will push back hard on these nonsensical racially inflamed statements. - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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