DAP has reproached PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang for purportedly proposing that the cabinet line-up should be exclusively Malay-Muslim.

In a statement today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said such a move is unconstitutional and could lead to Malaysia’s dissolution.

“Hadi’s exclusive Malay-Muslim cabinet is clearly unconstitutional as it reduces non-Malays and non-Malay Muslims to citizens of inferior status with diminished rights.

"No non-Malay, non-Muslim and even the vast majority of Malay-Muslims (who are moderate) in Malaysia will accept such an extremist and racist position, that can be identified only with the Taliban.

“By taking such a hard-line extremist and racist position, Hadi will not only frighten off Sabah and Sarawak, but may even lead to the breakup of Malaysia as a nation into Muslim Malay sections and non-Malay Muslims, non-Malays sections.

“This is the type of political party that Umno actively wants to co-operate with, because PAS is willing to overlook BN’s rampant corruption... turning Malaysia into a kleptocracy to enable PAS to pursue such racist and extremist objectives,” said Lim, who is also Penang chief minister.

He was responding to Hadi’s opinion piece that was published in the PAS mouthpiece Harakah on Friday last week.

“Islam stipulates that the head of state and his cabinet should profess Islam and come from the most influential race.

“But at the same time, Islam gives more rights to non-Muslims in politics, economy, and other affairs than what is given by the supporters and fighters of human-made ideologies and other religions towards people who are different from then,” Hadi (photo) wrote.

Quoting the Islamic scholar al-Mawardi, he said Islam encourages the appointment of non-Muslims to ministerial positions with administrative roles, but not in policymaking roles.

He said it is mandatory for Muslim leaders to accept the non-Muslims in terms of expertise and management, but not in policies and concepts.

“Thus, Islam accepts the position of non-Muslims through elections or technocratic governments,” he said.