Baru Sabah Sarawak Mps Won T Back Race Restriction For Pm Post

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Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) secretary-general Baru Bian is confident that East Malaysian MPs will not support the move to limit the prime minister post to Malay Muslims.
The Ba’Kelalan assemblyperson also expressed disappointment with Bersatu MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal for making such a proposition.
“But I believe he is again trying to politicise race or religion for their (Perikatan Nasional) own agenda. Sadly, many are falling into this fallacy,” he told Malaysiakini.
Stressing that the Federal Constitution is “very clear” on this matter, Baru (above) said race and religion are not stated as prerequisites.
“This was never one of the conditions that our forefathers in Sarawak and Sabah agreed to or envisaged.
“If (Prime Minister) Anwar (Ibrahim) were to amend the Federal Constitution, I am confident Sarawak and Sabah MPs will not support such an idea,” he added.
Under the Federal Constitution, the only requirement for someone to be prime minister, as per Article 43(2)(a), is that the person must be an MP, who, in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s judgment, has majority support.
Meanwhile, Article 160 defines a Malay as a person who professes the religion of Islam habitually speaks the Malay language, and conforms to Malay customs. This definition does not cover Orang Asli or natives of Sabah and Sarawak.
‘Social contract’
Earlier, Malaysiakini reported Wan Fayhsal calling on Anwar to amend the Federal Constitution to ensure that the prime minister post is exclusive to Malay Muslims.
Bersatu MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad KamalHe claimed this could restore Malay support for the government, which has been struggling to counter PN’s effective race and religion-based narrative.
Wan Fayhsal, who was responding to Lim Kit Siang stating that a non-Malay could become prime minister, accused the DAP veteran of killing the spirit of the formation of the federation which emphasises racial unity based on respect for the social contract, the will of the Malay rulers, and the "unwritten consensus", among others.
Quizzed on this, Baru replied: “Social contract? Never heard of this. First time hearing this.”
The “social contract” is often used to refer to the compromises between the majority and ethnic populations in Malaysia. However, there are no documents to show such a “social contract” exists. - Mkini

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