THE ‘MALAYSIAN’ PRIME MINISTER
According to Bob Teoh in My Sin Chew “Some thought it a joke that a Black man can be in the White House. But Barack Obama proved everyone wrong. So can an Iban, Kadazan, Kenyah, Dusun, Chinese, Indian, Orang Ulu, Orang Asli dan lain lain lagi be prime minister of Malaysia? “
Yes, anyone can be PM in
"It is up to the people to decide, just as the Americans had done through the democratic process," he told reporters while extending his congratulations to U.S. President-elect the day after his unprecedented victory.. PAS spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat also commented of Obama‘s victory “"It was a victory of sorts for Islam because Islam did not differentiate between race or creed," "That is why Obama's victory is groundbreaking. It also proves there is no such thing as the superior race of the Caucasian. Everybody shares equality in Islam," he said.
So can anyone become Prime Minister of Malaysia? Yes according to Dr Mahathir. It does not matter if the Prime Minister is Malay or non-Malay, as long as he enjoys the trust of all Malaysians. Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there was no specification in the country that a Prime Minister must be a Malay.
“But when you talk about having a non-Malay as a PM, you are being racist yourself because you shouldn’t ask the question if one is Malay or non-Malay.
“If he is acceptable to all Malaysians, yes, he can become PM. The specification is that he must be the leader of a majority party and if he can be such a leader of that majority party. Don’t ask if he is Malay, Chinese or Indians,” he told reporters after delivering a keynote address on “Bangsa
However, Dr Mahathir said it was wrong to assume that race-based politics were no longer relevant.“Race-based politics is still relevant. We are still not united if we can’t even a vision school for all children from various races to attend together. As long as there is such sentiment, we won’t be able to have Bangsa
THE LAW ON WHO CAN BE PRIME MINSTER
It is correct t hat the Federal Constitution does not prohibit anyone who is qualified from becoming Prime Minster of Malaysia. This is found in Article 43 of the Federal Constitution which reads:-
43. Cabinet
(1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint a Jemaah Menteri (Cabinet of Ministers) to advise him in the exercise of his functions.
(2) The Cabinet shall be appointed as follows, that is to say:
(a) the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister) to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House; and
(b) he shall on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint other Menteri (Ministers) from among the members of either House of Parliament,
but if an appointment is made while Parliament is dissolved a person who was a member of the last House of Representatives may be appointed but shall not continue to hold office after the beginning of the next session of Parliament unless, if he has been appointed Prime Minister, he is a member of the new House of Representatives, and in any other case he is a member either of that House or of the Senate.
(3) The Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to Parliament.
(4) If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.
(7) Notwithstanding anything in this Article, a person who is a citizen by naturalisation or by registration under Article 17 shall not be appointed Prime Minister.
.
Is
From
This in turn sparked a debate in the Straits Times as to whether Singaporeans (read: the Chinese-speaking majority) are ready to accept and support a non-Chinese prime minister.
This isn’t the first time this issue has surfaced. Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said that former Cabinet Minister S. Dhanabalan was one of the four men he considered as his successor, but decided against him as he felt Singapore was “not ready” for a non-Chinese prime minister. That was almost 20 years ago. Only time will tell whether a “Obama“ type Ptime Minister can emerge from
THE BITTER EXPERIENCE OF
For those who are getting high on Obama’s victory, you need to consider this. It is one thing to win an election. It is another thing to stay in power. Consider the bitter experience of
Voyagers from the east settled
In the course of a civil war in the 1850s, Cakobau, the most powerful chief in
From 1879 to 1916, more than 60,000 laborers from
On 25 September 1987, however, Rabuka led a second coup. He subsequently suspended the constitution, dissolved the parliament, and declared
The second coup in 1987 and the adoption of the 1990 constitution, which favored ethnic Fijian control of the government, led to heavy Indian emigration, especially among those Indians with sufficient capital to move. This emigration caused serious economic difficulties for
budget. New elections were held in February 1994. The SVT won 31 seats, and Rabuka was able to form a coalition government with the GVP. However, Rabuka's hold on power was tenuous as pressure mounted from within and outside the country for constitutional reform.
Beginning in 1995, a Constitutional Review Commission spent almost two years to develop a system that would avoid purely ethnic politics and, at the same time, take account of the concerns of the native Fijian community. Its recommendations were unanimously adopted by Parliament in July 1997. In 1999, parliamentary elections were held that resulted in a government led by Mahendra Chaudhry, leader of the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), who became the first Indian prime minister of
On 19 May 2000, George Speight, a failed businessman and son of Sam Speight, an opposition member of Parliament, took Parliament by show of force and held Prime Minister Chaudhry and most of his multiracial cabinet hostage for 56 days. In exchange for the hostages' release, the military—which imposed martial law during the crisis—agreed to replace Chaudhry's government, grant an amnesty to the rebels taking part in the coup, and to abolish Fiji's multiracial constitution. One of Speight's demands was a new constitution that would only permit indigenous Fijians to hold the posts of prime minister and president. The coup resulted in widespread civil unrest and attacks against ethnic Indians, and caused a drop of 41% in tourism. Speight and 369 of his supporters were arrested in July 2000, and the military installed ethnic Fijian Laisenia Qarase as prime minister in a caretaker government. He was charged with organizing
DO WE HAVE A DREAM?
For 200 years, the head of state in the