Wan Fayhsal’s PM for Malay Muslim only request: A tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing
In Malaysia, Muslims form the biggest identity group. When it is time to choose a PM for the country, there is of course a chance that they might choose to elect a non-Muslim as the PM instead of one of their own, but the question is, why would they do that, when they don’t have to, need to or want to?
Nehru Sathiamoorthy
I think we should take Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal’s request that Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim amend the Federal Constitution to make the position of PM exclusive to Malay Muslims as seriously as the police should take a drunk person’s report that his partner is trying to steal a million ringgit from their joint business which they have yet to start.
There is nothing real about the contention. It is fully the product of a hypothetical imagination. A non-Muslim is nowhere close to being the Prime Minister of Malaysia for this request, rightly or wrongly, to be taken seriously.
It’s as Shakespeare says, “a tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
All this talk about a non-Muslim being a PM started when Lim Kit Siang brought it up a few weeks ago.
We don’t know why Lim Kit Siang brought up the topic of a non-Malay being able to be the PM of the country – maybe he was just thinking freely and some things came out of his mouth in flow – but whatever his reason was, what Lim Kit Siang spoke about is a theoretical possibility, not a real possibility.
Sure, the next incoming Agong has named DAP secretary general and Transport Minister Anthony Loke as one of the more capable ministers in the cabinet. Sure, DAP is the largest coalition partner in the ruling government. But despite all that, Anthony Loke couldn’t touch the PM’s position even if he tried to reach it with a pole and a ladder.
Theoretically speaking, it is possible that Tony Fernandes will quit his job as the boss of Air Asia and work as a waiter at Banana leaf restaurant in the next 5 years, but realistically speaking, this is not going to happen.
In theory, is it also possible for the parents of a 13 and 11 year old to select them to be the decision maker in the family, but in reality, they are not going to do that, when they don’t have to, need to or want to.
At the end of the day, billionaires don’t work for the middle-class and in life, you are not going to be able to order someone who is more powerful than you around and majorities will not accept the rule of a minority, even if legally and theoretically, it is possible for them to do so.
In Malaysia, Muslims form the biggest identity group. When it is time to choose a PM for the country, there is of course a chance that they might choose to elect a non-Muslim as the PM instead of one of their own, but the question is, why would they do that, when they don’t have to, need to or want to?
If in the 60s, even Lee Kuan Yew couldn’t convince the Muslims in Malaysia why he is the best person to serve as the PM of a Malaysia, when he was truly a towering figure in modern history – other than Nelson Mandela, Lee Kuan Yew might the greatest nation builder the world has seen in the post-World War 2 era – I doubt Anthony Loke is going to have much of a chance today.
At the end of the day, identity matters in the selection of a leader. Just because your neighbour is a more accomplished person than your father, it doesn’t mean your neighbour is going to lead your family. Your father will be the leader of your family, even if there are other people who could do the job better, because only your father identifies with you and you can only identify with your father.
The differences in performance are also not something that is pronounced on an individual scale. The difference in time between the two fastest 100 meters sprint record holders, for example, is just around 0.1 second or 1 percent. If you compare the abilities of any individual with the next best individual, the difference is always small.
Even if we presume that there is an non-Muslim individual, who is so superior in leadership skills that they are to political leaders in Malaysia what Usain Bolt is to sprinters, that individual is still probably not going to that much different in ability from his nearest Muslim rival, for his or her selection to the top position to be the only logical outcome.
More than individual ability, organisational backing is the key to political power and strength. Even Mahathir, who ruled almost like a king during his first reign, was reduced to the position of helplessness when he did not have the backing of BN And Umno. It is organisational backing that magnifies the skills of a leader to the point that it becomes a force to be reckoned with. Organisational backing however, is always given to the individual or individuals that the organisation can identify with.
If there is non-Muslim in Malaysia who thinks that they are so superior in skill and ability, that they think they can convince the Muslims to back them as the PM of the country, although the Muslims do not share an identity with them, I think they are having a really nice dream.
When you have multiple identity groups occupying the same polity, the strongest identity group will always take the dominant position, and they will always award the top leadership position in the polity to the individual that they can identify with.
If a minority group is exercising authority over a majority group in a polity that they both occupy, it’s either because an external power is involved or an apartheid like system is in practice.
Should the Muslims even attempt to amend the constitution to make the PM post available only to them even if they want the PM post to be made available only to them? I actually think that the answer is no. The PM’s position is like trust in a relationship. If you have to demand it, you don’t have it.
That Wan Fayhsal is seeking Anwar to make the position of PM to be exclusive to the Malay Muslims is almost certainly a politically calculated move than it is a genuine request.
Wan Fayhsal is likely just using an issue that Lim Kit Siang raised to put Anwar in a “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t and damned if remain silent” position.
If Anwar says that he won’t amend the constitution to make the position of PM exclusive to the Malay Muslim, he won’t be able to gain the Malay Muslim support he needs to gain.
If he says he will make the PM position exclusive to the Malays-Muslim, he will lose the non-Malay Muslim support he has.
If he stays silent, he will appear weak.
In response to Wan Fayhsal’s request, what I predict Anwar will do is stay silent and let everybody else respond to Wan Fayhsal beforehand. If Anwar jumps into the fray and has his say at all, it will only be after all the dust has settled.
By next week, this “Amend the constitution to make the PM position exclusive to Malay Muslims” will disappear without a trace from our minds like a short rain on a hot day in May.
