Non-Malays can become Prime Minister as it is not against constitution, says Dr M

BANGI: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said non-Malay leaders can be elected as prime minister as it is not against the Federal Constitution.
Speaking during a Q&A session at an event to commemorate Malaysia – Cuba 40th anniversary bilateral relations, Mahathir said even leaders like DAP's Lim Kit Siang can assume the top post in the country.
"This is a democratic country... if people want Lim to be the prime minister, the constitution does not prevent him, even though he is a Chinese," he said.
The veteran statesman however said that DAP's way of managing Malaysia would not be good for the country.
"If the people want him, they will get him, but then they will have to pay the price later," he said.
Mahathir said DAP's leadership is more inclined to be authoritative, adding that Lim wants his son, Lim Guan Eng to succeed him.
"I do not believe in a system where the family counts more than the country," he said during the event held at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) here today.
Also present at the event was his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia Ruben Perez Valdez, UKM vice chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali and several foreign ambassadors.
Earlier in his speech, Mahathir commended Malaysia's second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak for deciding to widen the country's horizons by establishing ties with communist-led Cuba in 1975 despite the Cold War tension between capitalism and communism at that time.
"He overcame a lot of resistance in establishing relations with communist countries," Mahathir said, adding that both parties had agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
He said through the years, bilateral ties between both countries were more of a formality until he himself decided to visit Cuba during his premiership.
"Of course Cuba's 'northern neighbour' thinks that nobody should establish good relations with Cuba. We felt that we were quite independent and we cannot be influenced by other countries," he said.
Commenting on opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy verdict today (Feb 10), Mahathir said it is up to the country's legal system to determine.
"I have no say in this thing. Whatever they decide is whatever they decide and we have to accept it," he told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
He said people who committed such crimes should be punished justly regardless of their background.
"We are all equal before the law, regardless if one is a prime minister, deputy prime minister or a businessman with influence. When you have done something wrong, you will be punished in the same way," he said.