KUALA LUMPUR: DAP stalwart Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang hopes that Malaysia will not need 230 years before a non-Malay can become prime minister.
In a statement on his blog, Lim said the appointment of a non-Malay premier in the 22nd or 23rd century would depend on whether politics of identity will continue to be a primordial and elemental force in Malaysian politics as it is today.
"In the United States, a black man, Barack Obama, became the President of the United States — but this took place some 230 years after the establishment of the United States in 1776.
"I hope that Malaysia would not need 230 years before a non-Malay can become prime minister, but whether there will be a non-Malay prime minister in the 22nd century or 23rd century will depend on whether the politics of identity will continue to be so primordial and elemental as a political force in the Malaysian political landscape as today.
"But the political reality is that for the next 100 years, the prime minister of Malaysia will be a Malay," read the statement published on Aug 7.
Lim also said that Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders are now arguing that the Constitution is not for a plural Malaysia and claim that a corrupt Malay prime minister is better than a non-corrupt non-Malay prime minister.
"They claim that if DAP comes to power, there will be a Chinese prime minister. However, the DAP has the most number of seats under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's unity government. Is there a Chinese prime minister?
"I am on record as saying that I do not see a non-Malay prime minister during my lifetime or my children's lifetime."
He added that Malaysia could only succeed as a great world-class nation with two pre-conditions — political stability and the unity of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.
"Pas and Bersatu want to go back 500 years and deny the other races and religions their rightful place under the Malaysian sun.
"However, they should learn from the founding fathers, like the first three prime ministers of Malaysia who were also Umno presidents, who accept Malaysia as a plural nation of many races, languages, religions, and cultures."