“The Prime Minister of Malaysia must be a Malay Muslim even though there is no article in the Federal Constitution which prevents non-Malays from holding the post, because the majority of the country’s citizens are Malays”, said an eminent historian, Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Khoo Kay Kim. -The Malaysian Insider, 7th June 2012, Malaysia’s Prime Minister must be Malay Muslim, says historian. He also said that everyone must accept the reality that Malays were the natives of Tanah Melayu (Malaysia’s name before independence) and that the Malays are the majority of this country.
Even the British recognised Malaysia as the ‘Malay States’ before it achieved independence.”
“From a historical perspective, the highest rulers of the land before independence were the Malay kings who were Muslims”
-Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato` Dr. Khoo Kay Kim during the “In The Special Radar” (Dalam Radar Khas) programme titled “Democracy in Malaysia: Non-Malay Prime Minister” by Bernama Radio24 in collaboration with news portal AntaraPos.com today. -The Malaysian Insider, 7th June 2012, Malaysia’s Prime Minister must be Malay Muslim, says historian.
The issue about Non-Malay Prime Minister was highlighted again since DAP’s chairman, YB Karpal Singh made a statement that as long as he is alive, he will keep on fighting for a Non-Malay Prime Minister in Malaysia.
On the 26th May 2012, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)’s Spiritual Leader or Mursyidul Am, YAB Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat made a statement saying that:
Okay to be non-Malay, so long as he is a Muslim. How to lead Muslims if he is not a Muslim?”
“So, a Muslim nation must be led by a Muslim, regardless of race”.
-Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat on Karpal Singh’s statement at Machang, Kelantan -mynewshub, 26th May 2012, Non-Malay Can Be PM Provided A Muslim.
This matter has never been an issue in Barisan Nasional(BN) because its component parties respect the fact that the Prime Minister must be a Malay Muslim from UMNO. UMNO is also the biggest party in the BN. The understanding within the parties in the BN ensures Malaysians a strong government. But what if the oppositions win the PRU 13? With parties leaders of Pakatan Rakyat(PR) having a hard time to agree to each other’s dream and wishes one will wonder which party will be the most powerful in PR. And one will start asking that if PR wins the PRU 13, will the Prime Minister be a Muslim Malay?
First, let’s see what happened in Selangor and Penang since the states had been ruled by the PR…
Penang
Party: Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Chief Minister: YAB Lim Guan Eng
- JHEIPP (Department of Islamic Affairs Penang) stopped the reading of Al-Quran and azan for Fajr prayers.
Selangor
Party: The People’s Justice Party (PKR)
Chief Minister: YAB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
- The Health, Plantation Workers, Poverty and Compassionate Government Committee Chairman of Selangor, Datuk Xavier Jayakumar announced that the biggest church in Malaysia and in Asia will be built in Selangor.
- The Member of Parliament for Shah Alam, Selangor YB Khalid Samad supported the fight by the Catholic churches to use the ‘kalimah’ Allah in referring to their God. In fact, the Pakatan Rakyat(PKR, DAP and PAS) agrees that all religion can use ‘Allah’ as the name of their gods.
- The Investment, Trade and Industry Committee Chairman of Selangor, YBP Teresa Kok (DAP) complained about the usage of the Jawi scripts in street and road signages in Kuala Lumpur regardless of the fact that the Jawi script is the original writing script of the Malay States.
- YBP Teresa Kok broke the law and erect illegal road signs in six KL locations to protest Jawi road signs regardless the fact that the Jawi script is the original writing script of the Malay States.
So, can we trust Nik Aziz’s (PAS) statements that we do not have to worry about YB Karpal Singh’s statement? If the opposition party’s Malay Muslims PKR’s and PAS’s presidents did not even try to stop Pakatan Rakyat non-Malay leaders from doing what they did in Penang and Selangor can we trust their words?.
Indeed the opposition’s Muslim party, PAS had given up their fight to implement the Islamic law or huddud if they become the government after YB Karpal Singh’s “over my dead body” rejection of the idea. (The Borneo Post, 19th May 2012, Stop bringing up hudud — it’s not going to happen)
DAP even said that they will eliminate Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia (which grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’ and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” and goes on to specify ways to do this, such as establishing quotas for entry into the civil service, public scholarships and public education) to give way to the concept of Malaysian Malaysia.
We still hold to our principle, to turn down Islamic Country because of the concept of Malaysian Malaysia which does not give any specialty to any community but instead, all nation and religion will be at the same level which is much more fair.
-Lim Guan Eng at a political speech at Petaling Jaya on the 24th November 2011 (taken from Utusan Online-Hapuskan hak Melayu — Janji DAP sekiranya pembangkang memenangi pilihan raya
In fact, the opposition leader, YB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim had at least once made a really rude statement that Malaysia does not belongs to the Malays but instead Malaysia belongs to the Chinese and the Indians. May be he does not understand the Malaysian Constitution.
Malaysia is a ‘Muslim Country’ and Islam is the religion of Malaysia. So, as explained by Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim, the Prime Minister should be a Malay. To uphold Islam as the religion of Malaysia, he must be a Muslim with the true Malay integrity and dignity and will fight for the religion of Malaysia, the people and the country as how it is and how it had been since August 31, 1957. And not the Malays who do not understand the integrity and dignity of being a Malaysian Malay and brand the current leaders as nationalist or ‘asabiyyah’. For they do not understand what they are talking about and will not learn to listen to the scholars who knows better than them. Can we trust the Malays of PR to uphold the Malaysian Constitution?
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