Can We Rationally Discuss Having Non Malay Pm

When I was about six or seven years old, I told my parents to keep all my baby things. They asked me why and I said Malaysia would need it later when they set up the museum to honour the country’s best prime minister - me!
They laughed, of course, as it was so cute to see and hear little Zan say that.
Now that I’m all grown up, I’m not so sure if I want to actually be the prime minister, or if I even could. But I guess it was nice to have the opportunity to dream it. As they say to little kids - you can be anything you dream of, and as a kid, you believe it. The world is your oyster and you can make it whatever you want.
Now that I’m all grown up, I also wonder if I would even be allowed to be the prime minister. This was triggered by all the debacle about whether non-Malays are allowed to. You see, I am mixed race.
There is a part of me that is Malay and another that is Chinese. Is there anything anywhere that says that a mixed-race person can or cannot be prime minister?
This debacle started when police questioned former DAP MP Lim Kit Siang over a statement he made during speeches to Malaysian students in the United Kingdom.
Following this, Bersatu MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal called for the Federal Constitution to be amended to ensure that only a Malay can be prime minister.
Then, the actual prime minister - Anwar Ibrahim - responded by saying that there was no need to amend the Constitution. There has never been an issue whenever a prime minister candidate was made, and it has always been a Malay. So Anwar urged everyone to just move forward and focus on more important issues.
Several questions can be raised here. Firstly, why is the opposition playing up this issue in such an extreme way? What is the purpose for Wan Fayhsal to be so adamant in making a public call for a constitutional amendment to make sure that no non-Malays can be prime minister? Is this needed or is it just to invoke a public reaction?

Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad KamalIf it’s the latter then this is dangerous because, with the delicate social balance in Malaysia, we shouldn’t be pitting different racial groups against each other. The prime minister would then be right in saying that we should not stoke racial tension and instead, focus on more important issues like the economy and more efficient and fair governance.
It’s about competency
Secondly, for a multiracial, multicultural and multireligious country, wouldn’t it only be fair if all Malaysians were accorded the same rights without discrimination?
The issue of a non-Malay being prime minister should not be seen as an issue of ousting Malays from power or suppressing Malay rights. It should be seen as an issue of how anyone competent, responsible and efficient can be prime minister.
It should not matter whether an individual is Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Bidayuh, Iban, Jakun, Mah Meri, or anything at all.
If you are Malaysian, competent, responsible and everything positive, then you should have the opportunity to become prime minister. If a person is seen fit to be the nation’s elected leader and can protect the rights and needs of everyone, then so be it.
If at any period a Malay is seen to be the right candidate, then so be it. If it is a Chinese or an Indian, then so be it.
No one is calling for the Constitution to be amended so that only non-Malays can be the prime minister. I think we can all agree that a move like that would be wrong. And so would a move to amend it to ensure that no non-Malays can be prime minister.
Conversations about ethnicity, politics and issues such as non-Malays being prime minister should be discussed. However, it needs to be approached delicately and sensitively. Discussion and discourse need to be done maturely and civilly. It should avoid hate speech so no hatred is spewed.
In this day and age, I cannot stress enough that we need to always find a way to live together harmoniously and peacefully. The times and situations will change, so we need to be prepared to face it and progress without ever hating each other.
Everyone should relax and think rationally instead of emotionally. We need to learn to live together in a more centrist and moderate way rather than go down an extreme path. - Mkini
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist, and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT

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