The Machang MP said this would help “restore confidence” among Malays who have been perturbed by recent remarks by DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, who pointed out that the Federal Constitution does not bar a non-Malay from being the prime minister.
“As an MP, I will support it (amendment). I haven’t discussed this (with other PN MPs), but I suspect all of them will support it as it will give us real political stability,” Wan Fayhsal told FMT.
The Bersatu Youth chief also pointed out that some state constitutions mandate that their menteris besar must be Malay.
In a Facebook post earlier today, Wan Fayhsal challenged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to use his two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat to amend the Federal Constitution to ensure that only Malays can become the prime minister.
Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution states that the only requirement for someone to be prime minister is that the premier must be an MP, who, in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s judgment, is likely to command majority support.
There is no mention of race, religion or gender.
Wan Fayhsal said the call to have an amendment in place is fair since there is an understanding among races in the “social contract” that Malays are expected to “always lead in politics”.
“Of course, we are open to (having) deputy prime ministers (from different races) who are not necessarily Malay. Other races can also aspire (to be a deputy prime minister) depending on the acceptance of the parties and the voters. That is paramount,” he said.
He said the call to amend the Federal Constitution had also been raised during the Malay Dignity Congress in 2020, attended by then governing partner Umno.
“One of the resolutions (at the congress) was to amend the Federal Constitution so that only Malay leaders can hold the No 1 position,” he said.
In a speech to Malaysian students in the UK last month, former Iskandar Puteri MP Lim expressed hope that Malaysia would not have to wait as long as the US to have a leader from an ethnic minority.
He was referring to former US president Barack Obama, who was elected to the White House 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 that it was unlikely a non-Malay would become the prime minister in the next 100 years.
Bukit Aman is investigating Lim’s statement.
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