“The constitution doesn’t mention that the prime minister must be a Malay-Muslim. Maybe they overlooked this,” he said at the Melayu 153 convention, held in Kuala Lumpur today.

Noh, who chaired the convention, compared the Federal Constitution with that of Selangor, which requires that the menteri besar be a Malay-Muslim.

He called for Malays to unite politically to amend the constitution, adding that the convention today was held to remind Malays of the need to defend the nation’s sovereignty after 68 years of independence. “Malaya’s independence was not achieved as easily as we think. Malays fought for it. This convention is not fleeting in nature, but will be followed by greater movements nationwide,” he said.

The title of the convention is a reference to Article 153 of the constitution, which safeguards the “special position” of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak and allows preferential policies on scholarships, public service positions, education, and business licences.

Under the Federal Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints as prime minister a member of the Dewan Rakyat who is able to command a majority support of the house. No other qualification is stated, except that a citizen by naturalisation or registration may not be appointed as prime minister.

Veteran politician Rais Yatim also called for efforts to be made to strengthen Malaysians’ understanding of Article 153. He said the provision had not been defended effectively.

“Article 153 is a guarantee rooted intrinsically in the agreements made before independence, and is an important part of the nation’s formation,” he said, referring to the Federation of Malaya Agreement of 1948 which brought the Malay States and Penang and Melaka, then colonies in the Straits Settlements, into a peninsula-wide federation.

He said the British viewed that the Malays would face great difficulty without the provision, and moved to strengthen it via the Reid Commission and a memorandum submitted by the Malay Rulers.