Is DAP gunning for non-Muslim armed forces chief, PAS leader asks

Is DAP gunning for non-Muslim armed forces chief, PAS leader asks


Published: Jun 26, 2025 10:30 PM
Updated: 12:31 AM


Summary

• PAS supreme council member Zuhdi Marsuki accuses DAP of stoking racial sentiments.

• This comes after one of the Islamic party’s leaders received brickbats for seemingly taking issue with a non-Muslim being promoted as lieutenant-general.

• He also urges the government to come up with regulations on who can hold key government positions, alluding that they should be reserved for Muslims.

In a bizarre turnaround, PAS supreme council member Zuhdi Marsuki accused DAP of stoking racial sentiments over the promotion of a non-Malay to lieutenant-general in the armed forces.

Congratulating Johnny Lim on his new post, Zuhdi questioned if DAP is looking to have a non-Muslim lead the armed forces in the future.

“Because DAP made an issue out of the matter, I want to ask if the party is looking to have a non-Muslim become the armed forces chief?

“If the DAP can say that a non-Muslim could become our prime minister, I’m sure DAP has the same thing in mind for the armed forces. Let’s see what they say,” Zuhdi said on Facebook today.

This comes after Sungai Buloh PAS division chief Zaharuddin Muhammad penned a hypothetical scenario yesterday about a non-Malay premier.

The PAS leader wrote of a hypothetical scenario where a Chinese individual from Kampung Sungai Baru - despite it currently being a Malay enclave - would be appointed prime minister in 2058.

“It’s not impossible that news like this will come out and be neutral in 30, 40 years from now,” Zaharuddin said on Facebook.

He also attached a screenshot of an article on Lim’s promotion, but claimed the image was just “decorative”.

Malaysia’s first Chinese lieutenant general Johnny Lim Eng Seng

The post courted brickbats from several quarters, including DAP leaders Lim Guan Eng and Steven Sim, prompting Zaharuddin, who is also PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s son-in-law, to delete the post.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan attempted to distance the party from the post, adding that action would be taken against those who breach party discipline.

Regulations in Islamic administration

On that note, Zuhdi said that with Malaysia being an “Islamic state (negara Islam)”, the administration should come up with some regulations on who could hold key government positions, alluding that they should be reserved for Muslims.

“I don’t want to supersede our Islamic authorities, but when it comes to Islamic administration, we should have regulations on who could become the prime minister, chief justice, and even the armed forces chief.

“The Islamic regulations can be streamlined with the Federal Constitution. If there are inconsistencies, then it’s appropriate for us to make a constitutional amendment,” he added.