Press Release
On Non-Malay AG, It Is Nazri who is racist not the Malays
26 February 2019
We refer to BN Sec-Gen Nazri Aziz’s statement yesterday that it is ‘ Malay sentiment that a non-Malay should not be Attorney-General’.
Nazri’s claim is divisive, racist and an outrageous insult to all Malays in the country.
While claiming to be Malay champions, Nazri and Umno are in fact slandering the Malays by portraying them as intolerant and racist.
It is a cheap and dangerous way to score political points in the run-up to the Semenyih by-election.
Article 145 which lays down the criteria for appointment as AG does not make race a criteria. Pursuant to article 145(1) any person who is qualified to be a federal court judge is eligible to be appointed as AG.
Is Nazri Aziz trying to re-write the Constitution by adding a race requirement?
Earlier, Nazri also made the absurd claim that a non-Malay AG would not able to take an oath of office on the Quran before the King. This reveals remarkable ignorance on the part of a person who has held cabinet position for decades.
Nazri seems blissfully unaware that under the constitution, there is no requirement of an oath of office for the AG. In other words, the AG does not take an oath of office, unlike MPs or Ministers.
As a qualified lawyer, it is astonishing that Nazri Aziz plays fast and loose with the Constitution, which is the founding document of our nation.
His prejudiced and racial remarks are typical of the language we have come to expect from Umno.
Issued by,
Latheefa Koya
Executive Director
Lawyers for Liberty