Umno: DAP can't alter Islam, Malay rights even with two-thirds majority

Umno: DAP can't alter Islam, Malay rights even with two-thirds majority

Published: Apr 23, 2025 7:00 PM
Updated: 9:00 PM



Summary

• During an interview to “expose the slander of Islam threatened”, Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki attempts to assuage fear caused by the view often held by the Malay community that DAP could take away Islam’s position and bumiputera rights.

• Umno sec-gen recalls party’s “sacrifice” in forming the unity government for the sake of king and country.

DAP will not be able to amend the Federal Constitution involving the position of Islam and the Malays even if it has 148 seats in Parliament, said Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

He emphasised that any constitutional amendment involving the position of Islam and the Malays - namely Articles 3 and 153 - requires the consent of the Conference of Rulers.

Asyraf mentioned this during an interview series titled “#2 Bongkar Fitnah Islam Terancam (exposing the slander of Islam threatened) which was uploaded to his Facebook today.

Since forming an uneasy alliance after decades of political rivalry, both Umno and DAP frequently find themselves in the challenging position of justifying their partnership to their respective supporters.

This unprecedented collaboration was born following a fragmented election result in the 2022 national polls that left no single coalition with a clear majority.

DAP’s secular state agenda and its “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan have often been used to stoke fears among the Malay-Muslim electorate - a tactic Umno itself employed in the past.

Conversely, DAP had long accused Umno of promoting racial and religious bigotry, deepening the animosity between the two parties.

"Is it possible for a constitutional amendment to happen?” Asyraf posed the rhetorical question during the interview.

He noted that DAP holds 40 seats in Parliament, while constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority - equivalent to 148 out of 222 seats - to be passed.

"This is a fundamental matter that we must understand, so that all slander and accusations - as though Umno is selling out the country, Islam, and the Malay struggle to others - can be put to rest," he said.

Four key conditions set

Reflecting on the formation of the coalition government, Asyraf highlighted the “sacrifice” made by Umno and BN for the sake of the country’s direction and future.

He assured that the Islamic and Malay agenda will never be abandoned by Umno and BN, revealing that prior to the establishment of the coalition government, four key conditions related to these matters were finalised.

"We set conditions for any party wanting to work with Umno and BN, including that Article 3 of the Constitution must never be questioned.

"Likewise, Article 153 - which pertains to the special position of Malays and the indigenous bumiputera people, as well as the position and privileges of the Malay rulers, who are custodians of Islam, the Malays, and the Malay language.

"These four points were included in the agreement that was ultimately signed by all 18 parties that formed the unity government," he added.

Regarding criticism that Umno violated its prior resolution of "No DAP! No Anwar (Ibrahim)!”, Asyraf said the change in position was not made arbitrarily by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, but was instead decided through a special meeting of the Umno supreme council.

The supreme council decided to support and honour the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for BN to support and participate in the coalition government.

Sticking to ‘Malaysian Malaysia’

Last September, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said the party will not drop its “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan to garner support from other races.

DAP sec-gen Anthony Loke


“DAP gave its commitment to support the principle of Islam as the official religion of the federation, to respect the sanctity of the Malay language, and to uphold Article 153 of the federal constitution and the Umno president was satisfied with this.

“This was before BN joined Pakatan Harapan to form the unity government,” he said.