PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that the federal administration is unfit to govern because it is dominated by non-Malays is incorrect, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the stability of a government is not based on its majority but on the policies it implements.
“He (Hadi) has miscalculated. What matters is not whether it is Malay-majority, but the policies.
“Don’t use outdated and narrow-minded narratives. This country is a multi-ethnic nation.
“But we protect the rights of Islam. This guarantees the security of our nation. So, I am not inclined to have the people misled with such sentiments,” he said.
Anwar was speaking to reporters after launching the ‘Oriental Paintings’ exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said this when asked about Hadi’s statement that the Pakatan Harapan-led coalition government is unfit to lead the country because Harapan is dominated by non-Islamic parties.
According to The Malaysian Insight yesterday, Hadi claimed this makes Harapan weak because it doesn’t suit Malaysia with its Malay-Muslim majority.
Hadi reportedly cited DAP as having 49 parliamentary seats during the 15th general election while PKR won 39, of which 11 are supposedly non-Malays.
The TMI report made no mention of other Harapan parties such as Amanah, or the other seats held by parties like Umno which is also part of the unity government.
In contrast to Hadi’s claims, DAP holds 40 seats in Parliament compared to PKR’s 31. Taken as a whole, however, most MPs backing Anwar’s administration are bumiputera Muslims, including some of those from PKR and DAP.
Meanwhile, Anwar, who is also the Harapan chairperson, challenged the opposition to prove if the government sidelines the Malays and Islam. – Malaysiakini