Can a non-Malay be PM of Malaysia? — Kua Kia Soong

JUNE 7 — If you hear someone say that it’s not the Constitution but some other factor that determines a political reality in Malaysia… it’s the Constitution!

These days, correcting eminent Malaysian professors is becoming a tedious sport for Malaysian writers. One such professor has recently said that the prime minister of Malaysia must be a Malay-Muslim even though there is no article in the Federal Constitution that prevents non-Malays from holding the post because the majority of the country’s citizens are Malays.

He said that everyone must accept the reality that Malays were the natives of Tanah Melayu, Malaysia’s name before independence, and that the Malays formed the majority in the 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,” he said.

Goodbye to feudalism

Our historian professors do not seem to be versed in the rule of law or international human rights instruments.

When we became independent of the British colonial power in 1957, we inherited a Federal Constitution that laid down in no uncertain terms not only the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and the judiciary but also the fundamental liberties of all Malaysian citizens.

Among our fundamental liberties, Article 8 provides that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection. According to Article 43 (2) (a):

“the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as prime minister to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of representatives who in his judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House;…”

It is a sad and shocking indictment of our nation that, after 55 years of independence, a non-Malay leader cannot (or can never?) command the confidence of the majority of the members of parliament.

Secondly, civil and political rights are well-established as fundamental human rights under international law. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) stipulates that “every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity... without unreasonable restrictions to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities reinforces the European Convention. Article 2 of the declaration states that “persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate, regional level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live, in a manner not incompatible with national legislation.”

Ethnic minority leadership

The election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of The United States was a sign that racial equality had finally been reached despite the fact that black Americans remain a minority and they were not the “original people” of the United States.

In a modern state like Malaysia, a prime minister only needs to be non-partisan and span traditional boundaries and build coalitions among diverse groups to accomplish the desired goal of the nation.

Leadership in a multicultural society such as Malaysia requires multicultural leadership by a prime minister who can provide various avenues for the multi-ethnic population to connect with him or her.

In this modern era of leadership all over the world, many barriers and boundaries are being broken.

New leaders are appearing who are less hindered by their predecessors and are finding ways to be effective leaders without being duplicates of those who came before them. These boundaries are not necessarily only those surrounding ethnicity but include gender and sexual differences.

Beware the co-option strategy

In almost every ethno-nationalist conflict the dominant group not only suppress the ethnic minorities by coercion but also use reward and co-option strategy to placate the minority groups. The Alliance Formula at Malaya’s independence is a clear example. For this purpose the dominant group select some elites from the subordinate groups and offer them ministerial positions in the Cabinet.

It has also been noted that the containment of Sikh ethno-nationalism in India is another example of this phenomena. Note how India has accepted a Sikh as a prime minister and also of other high offices in India.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that a country with a rich and longer feudal history such as India is prepared to accept a member of an ethnic minority as prime minister. After all, what’s all the fuss about? They are merely going by what is in the Indian Constitution!