Do not exclude non-Malay from top posts

Do not exclude non-Malay from top posts
Rakyat Perak | Mar 12, 08 5:25pm

I refer to the Malaysiakini report New Perak MB by end week.

We, the people of Perak who voted in the opposition parties, very much hope that the Sultan will do the right thing and waive the Malay Muslim requirement so that a non-Malay leader from the DAP can take up the seat of Menteri Besar of Perak. Please do not exclude us (the non-Malays) from taking the top post in the state government.

In the Perak state assembly, the DAP won all 18 of the seats it contested. PKR won seven and PAS took six, to make it 31 seats in total out of the 59 state seats available, winning with a simple majority to rule the state. BN won the remaining 28 seats.

The non-Malays have lived in Perak for many generations and we form the majority of the populace here in Perak. The Chinese (43%), the Indians (11%) and the other non-Malays (Sikhs, Portuguese, Eurasians) together form more than 54% of the total population of Perak. We have very capable leaders among us to lead the state assembly. My mother's family is from Ipoh and my father's family is from Sungai Siput and we are all Chinese Malaysians. Some of us used to vote for the BN but this time around, ALL of us voted for the opposition parties.

The feeling among the non-Malay communities is that the next MB should be from the DAP.

The state constitution, however, has a requirement that the Menteri Besar post be only given to a Malay Muslim, effectively making DAP non-eligible for the post. However, there is a provision in the state constitution that allows the Perak Sultan to waive this requirement at his discretion.

The (Perak) constitution may seem unfair and unjust to the non-Malays but the waiver clause was put in place for exactly the kind of situation like we have now where the winning party/coalition has a non-Malay majority.

I was shocked and heartbroken to learn that there is such a requirement in the Perak constitution. I was shocked about the fact that there is a racial prerequisite for one to be the Menteri Besar of Perak. Clearly this is not in line with the spirit of Bangsa Malaysia and fair play.

We are now in the 21st century and have been independent from British rule for 50 years. It is absurd to still hold on to a system of governance that will only allow leaders from one race to have the chance to be the MB, to the exclusion of the other races. Even Manmohan Singh can be the Prime Minister of India, why can't a Chinese or Indian Malaysian be the Menteri Besar of Perak?

The new generation of Perakians who are born in Malaysia after Merdeka no longer accept this unjust, unfair and unacceptable system. We are first class Malaysians, or rather we want to be first class Malaysians, equal in status to the Malay Malaysians. We want full membership of our beloved country Malaysia and our beloved state Perak. We want full equality and we want it now.

We have voted to reject the racial and religious discriminations as practised by the Umno-led BN government. We have voted to reject discrimination in jobs, promotions, education, scholarships, business opportunities and other form of economic discrimination. We have voted to reject the corruption, incompetence, inflation and rising crime in Malaysia. After 50 years, we are really fed-up with the unjust BN government and we have voted for change.

We have voted to give the DAP-led coalition a chance to govern and develop the state and to clean up the state government. We want Perak to once again be among the best places to live in Malaysia.