Malaysia’s Islamist party PAS criticised over latest proposal to reserve Cabinet roles for Muslims

Malaysia’s Islamist party PAS criticised over latest proposal to reserve Cabinet roles for Muslims A lawmaker has called the proposal “divisive”, while a major interfaith group raised constitutional concerns and framed it as part of a wider push by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) for a theocratic Islamic state. KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian lawmaker and a major interfaith group have criticised Islamist party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang’s latest remarks on limiting the Cabinet roles non-Muslims could hold under a PAS-led government. Democratic Action Party (DAP) deputy secretary-general and legal bureau chairman Ramkarpal Singh said Hadi’s proposal was divisive and unconstitutional. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism raised constitutional concerns over Hadi’s remarks, arguing that they point to a broader push by PAS to establish a theocratic Islamic state. It is at least the third time in recent years the PAS president has made remarks sketching out what a PAS-led government in Malaysia would look like, and it has again triggered public reactions, which included support from a non-Muslim wing in the party. Speaking at PAS’ annual congress in Kelantan on Sep 5, Hadi had said non-Muslims could serve as ministers under a PAS-led government, but should be limited to portfolios that oversee the implementation of government policies while Muslims would be responsible for policy formulation, according to local media reports. Hadi reportedly cited the Works and Forestry ministries - even though Malaysia does not have a forestry ministry - as portfolios that could be headed by non-Muslims, while saying ministries such as Islamic Affairs and the implementation of syariah law must be handled by Muslims, as reported by local news site Free Malaysia Today. “It must be a Muslim; the implementation of syariah requires a Muslim,” Hadi was reported as saying by local news outlet Focus Malaysia. PAS is the largest single party in Malaysia’s parliament with 43 out of 222 seats and is part of the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition. It has recently cooperated with the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government, in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections - dealing electoral setbacks to Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. “CANNOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY” Hadi has made similar remarks before. In 2013, he said non-Muslims could serve as ministers and specifically cited the Works portfolio, while saying the prime minister and the person “in charge of policies” must be Muslim, according to national news agency Bernama. In 2017, Hadi was reported as saying that only Malay-Muslims could join Malaysia’s Cabinet. PAS’ then-information chief Nasrudin Hassan subsequently clarified that what Hadi meant was that some Cabinet positions must be reserved for Malay-Muslims, as reported by local news site Malaysiakini. Hadi’s statement then drew flak from both BN and PH politicians, who accused him of treating non-Muslims as second-class citizens, Malaysiakini reported. On Friday (Sep 11), DAP’s Ramkarpal Singh said Hadi’s latest proposal “cannot be taken lightly”. DAP is the biggest political party in Malaysia’s unity government and part of the ruling PH coalition. “It strikes at the very fabric of multiculturalism and diversity of races in Malaysian society,” Singh, who is a former deputy law minister, said in a statement on Facebook. Singh said Malaysia’s federal Constitution makes no provision for dividing Cabinet positions along racial or religious lines. “This clearly suggests that all citizens, regardless of race or religion, are entitled to be considered as ministers in line with the principle of equality before the law,” Singh said. Singh noted that Malaysia’s Cabinet has been multiracial since independence, adding that there is “absolutely no reason” for that to change. “Hadi’s remarks are clearly divisive in nature and must be rejected by all right thinking Malaysians as they are an affront to the concept of power sharing amongst all races that has been so successfully applied in this country,” Singh said, adding that the DAP rejects Hadi’s remarks. He called on PN’s non-Muslim component parties to publicly state their positions on Hadi’s remarks. Singh also urged the BN parties, including its linchpin United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), to state whether they agree with Hadi, citing how both BN and PAS have collaborated recently and discussed the possibility of future cooperation. PAS WANTS THEOCRATIC ISLAMIC STATE: INTERFAITH GROUP Singh’s criticism came after the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism also raised concerns over Hadi’s latest remarks, linking them to previous statements he had made about the role of non-Muslims in government. The council pointed in particular to further remarks by Hadi in 2018, when he said there would be two Cabinets if PAS came to power - one that would determine national policies and another executive Cabinet that would carry them out and could include non-Muslims. The council said that Hadi’s past and present remarks show that PAS aims to establish a theocratic Islamic state in Malaysia. “A theocratic Islamic state is not compatible with the federal Constitution, which provides equality for all citizens before the law and entitles them to equal protection of the law,” the council said. “A theocratic state will have the effect of undermining the federal Constitution and destroying the fundamental rights of citizens.” The council called on Malaysians to “unite and defend” the federal Constitution and urged PAS to pledge to protect and abide by it. It also highlighted a 2024 federal court ruling that struck down 16 provisions in Kelantan’s syariah criminal law after finding that the state legislature did not have the power to enact them. Kelantan is a PAS stronghold and has been governed by the party since 1990. “Even when there is no theocratic state, PAS was found wanting,” the council said, citing the ruling. PAS FIGURES WEIGH IN PAS figures have also weighed in on Hadi’s latest comments. Asked which ministries PAS considers suitable for non-Muslims, Hadi’s political aide Syahir Sulaiman said that it was up to individuals to interpret the PAS president’s remarks, according to a Sep 8 Malaysiakini report. "It depends on how one wants to interpret it - which ministries oversee the country’s core areas, and which ministries are more focused on implementation and matters concerning the people," Malaysiakini quoted him as saying. Syahir added that when it came to forming a Cabinet, PAS would have to account for the views and agreement of all stakeholders. Meanwhile, the PAS Non-Muslim Supporters Wing (DHPP) has backed Hadi’s position on the roles of non-Muslims in a PAS-led government. "Whoever gets to lead the ministries would still have to table their (policy proposal) in the Dewan (Rakyat). They will get feedback first before making any policy,” DHPP chief BK Kumaresan told Malaysiakini, referring to Malaysia’s lower house of parliament. "This (is) a Muslim-majority country. DHPP has no issue with this. DHPP is not offended and we support it,” he added. "DHPP believes that if PAS gets to lead (the country), it will be fair to all races," Kumaresan said. HADI CALLS FOR ABOLITION OF “COLONIAL-LEGACY” LAWS Hadi has separately called for the abolition of laws he described as colonial legacies that restrict the implementation of syariah law in Malaysia. “Colonial-legacy laws must be abolished to ensure the true meaning of independence can be fully realised,” the PAS president said on Sep 9 in a statement titled “Independence: Abolish Colonial Laws That Obstruct the Implementation of Islam”, local news outlet Malay Mail reported. He singled out laws limiting the sentencing powers of syariah courts and the constitutional division of legislative powers between the federal and state governments, arguing that these constrained the implementation of Islamic law. These included the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355), which caps Syariah court sentencing at three years’ jail, a RM5,000 (US$1,220) fine and six strokes of whipping. Much of Hadi’s statement was also directed at DAP, which he accused of blocking efforts to strengthen Islamisation of Malaysia’s legal system, Malay Mail reported. Hadi reportedly said PAS regards the matter as one of religious principle rather than ordinary politics, adding that it has cut political cooperation with parties it deems as challenging Islam’s constitutional standing. [Image text:] MESTAMARIAHNAN