Most disappointing that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is yet to make any stance following the police action against Lim Kit Siang over his alleged comments that in Malaysia a non-Malay can be the Prime Minister. It is very unclear as to what offence Kit Siang allegedly committed - a suggestion that the Malaysian Prime Minister can be a non-Malay is TRUE, as per the Constitution.
Anwar should have speedily came out and cleared the confusion - Why is he delaying making comment as Malaysian Prime Minister? This maybe considered IRRESPONSIBLE...
Does this mean that Anwar Ibrahim too is of the position that only a Malay can become the Prime Minister of Malaysia - well, then he needs to educate himself by referring to the Malaysian Federal Constitution - which states clearly that ANY Malaysian Member of Parliament, who has the confidence of the majority of MPs will be Prime Minister.
So, Malaysia's Prime Minister can be Kadazan, Bidayuh, Temuan, Chinese Malaysian, Iban...and not just Malays (who today may be just about or even less than 50% percent of the total population - for a long time, we have not seen statistics as to how many Malays are there in Malaysia > now we only get statistics of how many Bumiputras there are???)
This is the same for Chief Ministers or Menteri Besars or State Premiers - who simply need to have the support, nay the confidence of the majority of the State Legislative Persons, elected by the people, in the particular State Legislative Assembly or State Parliament.
Being the current Prime Minister, Anwar should have come out and educated people - and not let this 'confusion' fester. So, why is he SILENT?
In Malaysia, and in most democracies, it is the PEOPLE who decide who will be the Prime Minister. In Malaysia, the people elect their peoples' representatives to Parliament as MPs, and then it is the MPs that decide who will be the Prime Minister...
Note, that this means that even if Anwar's Pakatan Harapan has the majority or most of the MPs, it does not mean that Prime Minister will even be a Pakatan Harapan MP - the MPs can choose maybe even an Opposition MP, maybe also a PAS MP as Prime Minister. {There is nothing in our Federal Constitution that says that the Prime Minister must come from the party/coalition that have the most number of MPs - the decision is with ALL MPs, and the one MP that is able to confidence the majority of MPs in Parliament will be the Prime Minister...full stop.
Likewise GENDER - a woman MP can also become the Prime Minister - if she manages to secure the confidence of the majority of the MPs.
The KING also have no choice in the matter - he can only appoint the MP who has the majority support or confidence of all MPs. Likewise, the Sultan and Rulers of the States...
43 Cabinet (Federal Constitution)
(2) The Cabinet shall be appointed as follows, that is to say:
...(4) If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.(a) the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister) to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House; and
(b) he shall on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint other Menteri (Ministers) from among the members of either House of Parliament;...
There is no ethnic or religious condition as to who can be the Prime Minister or the State Premier, Menteri Besar or Chief Minister...
And WHEN and IF the sitting Prime Minister LOSES the confidence of the Majority, then he cannot anymore remain as Prime Minister...
Post Sheraton Move - Muhyiddin Yassin became Prime Minister > when at that time, his party BERSATU only had about 28 seats, BN had 40 and PAS 17. So we saw a Prime Minister, not from a party that had the biggest number of MPs. Then Ismail Sabri was the 9th Prime Minister - he was not the President of UMNO, or the Chairperson of BN but then he had the confidence of the majority of MPs, and that was all that matters... So, the past conventions was ignored with PM No. 8 and 9.
| Government (115) | Opposition (104) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BN | PN | GPS | GRS | PBM | IND | PH | WARISAN | GTA | PSB | MUDA | BN | ||||||||||||
| 40 | 39 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 90 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 36 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 36 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||||
| UMNO | MCA | MIC | PBRS | BERSATU | PAS | PBB | PRS | PDP | SUPP | BERSATU | PBS | STAR | PBM | IND | DAP | PKR | AMANAH | UPKO | WARISAN | PEJUANG | PSB | MUDA | UMNO |
So, it all up to the people of Malaysia to decide who will be the Prime Minister of Malaysia... and the only relevant questions WHO IS THE MP WHO ENJOYS THE CONFIDENCE OF THE MAJORITY OF THE MPs?
Wisdom suggest that the BEST MP be chosen - irrespective of ethnicity, religion or even part affiliation - Now, Anwar Ibrahim has the 'confidence of the majority' - and we do not know how long will be be able to retain it?
If the argument is that a Malay should be the Prime Minister because they are the 'first' people of the land - it is FLAWED because it is accepted that the first people of Malaya are the Orang Asli...
The argument is also flawed because we are no longer just Malaya - and have been Malaysia since 1963. I do not believe that people of Sabah and Sarawak abdicated their right to become Prime Minister of Malaysia, or did they?
About numbers, today we are simply no longer certain as to the number of Malays in Malaysia - because for some time now, there is no statistics to refer to about the actual number of Malays in Malaysia > Since some time now, the only Statistics we get is about how many Bumiputra there is, and we are uncertain as to even which groups really make up "Bumiputra" - it was a term introduced by then BN regime - so, does Anwar and PH now accept this 'Bumiputra' concept too?
Malay population - well that are Malays that satisfy the Constitutional Definition, and there are other Malays that subsequently became Malays.
160 Interpretation (Federal Constitution)"Malay" means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and—
(a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or
(b) is the issue of such a person;
However, many other people that do not satisfy the Constitutional definition of Malay, who came to Malaysia from Indonesia and other countries have considered themselves Malay, some of whom have even been considered by the authorities as Malay simply by using the earlier or partial part of the Constitutional definition, i.e. 'a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom...' - hence later migrants from Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh,...could now be 'Malays' if the later condition was ignored.. '(a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or b) is the issue of such a person;'
If the past governments ignored this strict constitutional definition, and as a result many unqualified new 'Malays' may have wrongly received the benefits/preference that were meant for specified group of people...
This may have led to many a non-qualified Malays from reaping the special preferences provided for in the Federal Constitution - Should the Anwar's government investigate now and re-claim government monies or monies values spend on these 'unqualified' Malays - or should we just move on?
Malays - well, LOVE and migration have been happening for centuries and as such 'pure breed' of any ethnicity would be rather hard to find.
As such, the PURE Malay genetically may be difficult to find. Now there has been marriages with people of other ancestry and children, and many Malays or even other ethnic groups have been assimilated -
Mahathir has Indian ancestery. Kuli married a Peruvian, Musa Hitam Musa was married to Toh Puan Datin Ines Maria Reyna, a Peruvian of Spanish descent, whom he first met at Lima, Peru in 1959 as an international student. They had 3 children: Mariana, Carlos Abdul Rashid and Rosana., Najib's daughter married a man from Khazakstan, Zahid Hamidi has Indonesian ancestry,... So, are the children of these marriages considered Malay if any of their parents is Malay? Talking to many Malay friends - they talk about they being 25% Chinese, 12% Arab, etc..
Shocking - T20 was being subsidized by government for Haj? Another reason to criticize past BN, past PH and past PN regimes?
PM Anwar and Pakatan Harapan must realize WHY the Malaysian people rejected BN, and voted in favour of the Pakatan Harapan in GE14 and also GE15 - They did not want a continuation of BN policies and way of governance - they wanted the REFORMS promised. PH lost a bit of support to Perikatan Nasional(BERSATU and PAS, who were also before in Pakatan Rakyat and/or Pakatan Harapan) because partially PH after GE14, despite being in government for about 22 months, failed to deliver on its REFORMASI promises...and sadly, this 'non-delivery' continues under Anwar.
If Anwar continues to act the same as previous BN Prime Ministers, then naturally it may diminish the support of the people not just for Anwar but also for Pakatan Harapan. The argument of needed to use BN methods to win over the Malay support simply will not be accepted by the Malaysian people - they want SPEEDY CHANGE.
As such, how Anwar responds to the police action against Kit Siang's 'non-Malay PM' may be CRUCIAL...
PLEASE SPEAK UP ANWAR IBRAHIM... as what you say will impact also Pakatan Harapan...
Rishi Sunak of Indian ancestry is now UK's Prime Minister, Barack Obama was the first African-American president in U.S. history, who also has Indonesian ancestry, Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto, of Japanese ancestry was President of Peru for about 10 years...
Should Malaysians, through their peoples' representative Members of Parliament, choose the BEST MP to be Prime Minister irrespective of party affiliation, ethnicity or religion? What is BEST for the country and its people...
How do Malaysian politicians refer to Malaysians - do they call them Chinese Malaysians, Indian Malaysians, Kadazan Malaysians or Malay Malaysians? Referring to Chinese Malaysians simply as 'Chinese' is wrong and degrading for you are talking about a Malaysian, and not a Chinese National...How does Anwar refer to the different ethnic groups in Malaysia ---
Kit Siang to give statement to police over ‘non-Malay PM’ remarks, says no provocation intended
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — DAP veteran Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang today said he will give his statement to the police over his non-Malay prime minister remarks in a recent speech.
He said he had no intention of being provocative as it is stated in the Federal Constitution.
“I will meet the police in the next few days on my remarks to Malaysian students in Manchester at the end of last month.
“I was accused of making provocative remarks when I said that the Malaysian Constitution provides that a non-Malay can be a prime minister.
“There was no such intention,” he said in a statement.
Lim said the Malaysian Constitution is a non-provocative document, the basis on which Malaysian unity must be founded.
“I believe one way for Umno to establish its relevance to the Malay race and the Malaysian nation is to return to original nation-building principles as championed by the first three prime ministers of Malaysia who were also Umno presidents, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein.
“I believe that Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein were not being provocative when they supported and provided in the Malayan and later the Malaysian Constitution that a non-Malay could be a prime minister of Malaysia,” he said.
He also said that at present, the statement that a non-Malay could be prime minister of Malaysia is a “statement of fact”, and not a “statement of reality”.
Last month, Lim, in his speech, said he hopes that it would not take long for Malaysia to appoint a non-Malay prime minister.
He cited US history where it took 230 years for a Black American to become the president.
“I hope that Malaysia will not take 230 years for a non-Malay to become a prime minister, but in the next 100 years, I do not expect this to happen,” Lim said in his speech.
However, he brushed off the chances of a non-Malay being appointed as prime minister in the present circumstances as “not possible.” - Malay Mail, 11/12/2023
“I am very sad to hear that my good friend Lim will be probed or investigated by the police just because he mentioned a possibility that a non-Malay person may become the prime minister of Malaysia,” said the Pasir Gudang MP.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Hassan defended Lim’s statement and questioned the basis for the investigation.
“What’s wrong with his statement? I am Malay and I am also a Malaysian. I am a lawyer, an advocate and a solicitor.
“I know the law and our Federal Constitution. And I stress that there is no mention in our Constitution that only a Malay can be Malaysia’s prime minister,” he said.
Citing Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution, the PKR lawmaker said that anybody, as a citizen of Malaysia, regardless of race or religion can be made the country’s prime minister.
Article 43(2)(a) states that the only requirement for someone to be prime minister is that the premier be an MP, who in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s judgement has the majority of support.
Former deputy minister Mohamed Hanipa Maidin agreed with Hassan, contending there was no provision in the Federal Constitution that the prime minister must be of a certain race or religion.
"Perhaps, one who seeks to argue that the prime minister’s office must be reserved for a Malay MP is only relying his or her point on what constitutional lawyers used to call a ‘constitutional convention or practice’.
"However, Lim may argue otherwise. Anyway, having a different opinion should never be considered a crime. It’s called democracy," he told Malaysiakini.
Hassan, however, said that no constitutional convention has even implied that the prime minister’s position be strictly reserved for Malays.
He further emphasised that Malaysia is a democratic and progressive country, refuting any notion of an apartheid-like restriction on leadership positions.
“As a Malay but also as a patriotic Malaysian, I believe that Malaysia belongs to all its citizens. Making a statement like this is not seditious under the Sedition Act 1948.
“As an MP, I urge and advise our police to not waste time investigating Lim. It is not seditious to mention the rights and legal position non-Malays and Malays under our Federal Constitution,” he said.
Lim is expected to give his statement to the police at 9.30am on Wednesday at the police station in SS2, Petaling Jaya.
The Act for which Lim is being probed is yet to be known.
Hanipa questioned if the police would investigate Lim under constitutional law or for being politically wrong.
"Assuming he is politically wrong, does the police have any power to investigate him? Perhaps, the inspector-general of police or any other officer needs to clarify.
"Investigating anyone for giving his view on constitutional matters may be viewed to be highly oppressive.
"Worse, it would bring the image of our police and Madani government into disrepute," said the Amanah leader.
It is believed that the investigation on Lim is over his remarks made to Malaysian students in Manchester, UK, at the end of last month, where he said it took the US 230 years before an African-American (Barack Obama) could become president.
Lim then expressed hope that it would not take that long for a non-Malay to become the prime minister of Malaysia.
He also claimed that at present, the statement that a non-Malay could be Malaysia’s prime minister is a “statement of fact”, not a “statement of reality”.
Meanwhile, PAS has since deemed Lim’s remarks as “poisonous propaganda” that has the potential to create an atmosphere of disharmony. - Malaysiakini, 11/12/2023
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