KUALA LUMPUR: The Malays will continue being the majority race in Malaysia and this will ensure their interests for years to come.
Parti Amanah Negara president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the growing population of the Malays, which is bigger than the population of the Chinese and other races was a fact that cannot be denied.
He said that was why it was unnecessary to amend the Federal Constitution to restrict the eligibility for the prime ministership to only Malays or Bumiputera Muslims based on the opposition's suggestion. He said the Malay population will sustain its growth, ensuring the stability of Malay leadership positions.
"The Malays still constitute the majority, so why discuss this matter?
"(The opposition) is deliberately manipulating this issue to create a perception. The Malays are increasingly having more children, while the Chinese do not want to.
"It (the opposition's statement) is a deliberate trap set to mislead the public into thinking that (supposedly) Perikatan Nasional (PN) is safeguarding their (the Malays') position," Mohamad said after launching the party's youth wing national convention here today.
He was chiding PN for trying to lure the Malays to support the coalition by raising communal issues.
Mohamad said even some of the opposition federal lawmakers have pledged support towards Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's administration.
He hinted that there might be more elected representatives who will support the current ruling coalition but refused to reveal the names.
"We know that the current Prime Minister has been in office for a year and he receives support. I am confident there will be many more who will throw their support behind Anwar," he added.
Yesterday, Anwar said there was no need to make amendments to the Federal Constitution in order to ensure a prime minister can only be held by a Malay.
He had said that the opposition did not understand the constitution and was only riling up the Malay community.
He said despite the current status quo of the constitution, the prime minister's post has always been held by those from the Malay community.
Anwar was responding to media queries on the suggestion by Parti Pribumi Bersatu (Bersatu) Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal to amend the Federal Constitution to ensure that only Malays can become the prime minister.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal's proposal comes after DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said that the constitution does not prevent any non-Malay from becoming prime minister.