Could a non-Malay actually become Malaysia’s Prime Minister?

One thing that all Malaysians should know, is that we hold general elections every 5 years. What’s less straightforward, is who can actually become Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Sure, the process that we know is that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong selects a Prime Minister, but as for the minimum requirements for the job, not every Ali, Muthu, or Ah Chong can become Prime Minister according to the Constitution; there are 3 important requirements that have to be fulfilled for a potential candidate. But what are those? Well, first and foremost…

1) He/she must be a Malaysian citizen from birth

… though what determines who actually is a Malaysian citizen from birth is a bit more complicated (especially if you’re born overseas to a foreign parent). But that’s an article for another day.

In any case, yeah, only people born Malaysian can become PM. The Constitution says:

“Notwithstanding anything in this Article, a person who is a citizen by naturalization or by registration under Article 17 shall not be appointed Prime Minister.” – Article 43 (7), Federal Constitution

… which basically disqualifies several members of our national football team, unfortunately. But hey, as long as they keep winning games, it’s all good, right?

But of course, we’ve got to address the gajah in the room: what about ethnicity/religion? Can a non-Malay, non-Muslim person become Prime Minister? Well…

2) He/she doesn’t have to be from a certain race or religion to be PM

Quite interesting, considering the fact that only Malay-Muslims can hold the posts of Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Malay Ruler, or Mentri Besar of the nine states with Malay rulers (Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Pahang, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu). But for the office of Prime Minister, the Constitution is silent on the issue of race or religion.

With that being said, in practice, it might be a teeny, tiny bit difficult to actually have a non-Malay Prime Minister, simply because:

“… politics will probably dictate that the PM-designate must be a Malay/mixed Malay. However, this is a mere tradition and not a law.” -Emeritus Prof. Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia

So no, it isn’t impossible for a non-Malay, non-Muslim Malaysian to become Malaysian; it’s getting there, and staying there that’s the problem. Will we ever see one? Our guess is: not anytime soon. But hey, feel free to prove us wrong, Dewan Rakyat.

On that note, once those hurdles are cleared, the next step is…

3) He/she must be a member of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)

Because the Constitution states that a Prime Minister must be a member of the House of Representatives (the Lower House in Parliament; the televised one where people yell insults at each other), this definitely indicates that a Prime Minister should be at least 21 years old, since that’s the age requirement for the House. Besides that, the Constitution doesn’t mention any requirement for age regarding the role of the Prime Minister itself.

There also isn’t an age limit (Tun Dr Mahathir became PM for the second time at the ripe old age of 92), nor is there a term limit (Tun Dr Mahathir was PM for 22 years during his first stint). However, a Bill for a term limit of 10 years (2 terms) is being discussed, though it has yet to be passed.

On top of all that, you’re disqualified from being an MP (and by extension, PM) if you have a criminal conviction amounting to…

“… imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than two thousand ringgit and has not received a free pardon.” – Article 48 (1) (e), Federal Constitution

In short, being an MP first is the important element to qualify for the post of Malaysian Prime Minister.

Being eligible is one thing, getting selected by the Agong is another

As we mentioned earlier, the main issue of the Prime Minister post is how the Agong selects one, because he needs to select a ‘member of Parliament who is likely to command the support of the majority of the House’. And to His Majesty’s credit, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong took the unprecedented step of interviewing each and every single one of the 222 MPs to determine this after Tun Dr Mahathir stepped down in 2020. So yeah, even if you qualify, it’s not that easy to be chosen.

But with elections coming up soon following the dissolution of Parliament on October 10th 2022, we could well be seeing a new Prime Minister soon, so vote when you can, and do so wisely.