A Bersatu Member of Parliament called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to amend the Federal Constitution to reserve the post of prime minister of Malaysia specifically for Malay-Muslims only.

However, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal's proposal was roundly criticised by Malaysian politicians from East Malaysia, and later rejected by Anwar.

Fayhsal, who is Bersatu's youth chief and a prominent member of the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition, shared his thoughts on Facebook on Dec. 14.

DAP's Lim Kit Siang discussed the possibility of a non-Malay PM

He referred to a previous incident where DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang spoke to a group of students, and said that he hoped it would not be long before Malaysia has a non-Malay prime minister.

Lim drew a comparison to America, where it took over 200 years before a half-black man, Barack Obama, was elected president.

For this comment, Lim was asked to give a statement to the police, although he denied being provocative.

Challenged Anwar to amend the Constitution

Fayhsal then alleged that Lim's remarks had spread uneasiness among the Malay community in Malaysia.

He challenged Anwar to use his two-thirds majority in parliament to amend the Constitution so that "only a Malay-Muslim can be the prime minister of Malaysia".

Currently, Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution says that the only requirement for someone to become prime minister is that person must be an MP who, in the Agong’s judgment, is likely to command the majority support of parliament.

The Bersatu man, who once deleted his Twitter account, may have been referring to recent defections from Bersatu to Anwar's team.

While these MPs have not officially resigned from their party (which means there is no need for by-elections), their support of Anwar would mean that the government bloc holds 151 out of 222 parliamentary seats, or a two-thirds majority necessary to amend the Constitution.

Backlash from East Malaysian politicians

However, Fayhsal's comments met with blowback from East Malaysian politicians.

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah of PBB, currently serving as Sarawak's state tourism minister, told FMT: "It’s unfortunate to see we still have within our midst leaders who play the racial and religious (card)." He added:

"Malaysia is a multiracial and multi-religious country. If we want to progress and be respected within the country and beyond, we need to do away with all this racist outlook.

We expect Malaysians, especially the leaders, to adopt a more open and mature outlook. We desire leaders who think as Malaysians.

We seek leaders who refrain from discriminating against minorities, those who believe in merit-based acceptance to lead Malaysia, rather than being chosen based on race."

Another Sarawak politician, MP Larry Sng of PBM, questioned if Wan Ahmad's proposal would ban natives from Sarawak and Sabah from one day leading Malaysia.

According to the Malay Mail, Article 160 of the Constitution 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.

Anwar says no need to amend Constitution

Anwar commented on the issue, saying there was no need to amend the Constitution.

According to Berita Harian, Anwar said that the prime ministers of the past and the current leaders of the political coalitions who could become prime minister, including the opposition, were and are all Malay.

Anwar said on Dec. 15: "We have to protect the rights of all the people, all our citizens."

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Top image from Wan Ahmad Fayhsal and Anwar's Facebook.