He quipped that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration should instead give them cash aid and business contracts.
Zaid, a former law minister who is now a DAP member, was commenting on Najib’s statement last month that the government would study an Indian Muslim association’s call for recognition of the community as Bumiputeras.
He said the promise was merely a way of fishing for votes ahead of the coming general election and he described it as “illogical” because “religion doesn’t count” in determining a person’s qualification as a Bumiputera. He pointed out that many Bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak are non-Muslims.
“You cannot make up a new category,” he told FMT.
“So what Najib is doing is to look for votes by promising special Bumiputera privileges to the Indian Muslims. Where do we draw the line then? What about the Chinese Muslims and converts?
“You have to be fair to all. But this is Najib’s way now. He has lost his mind.”
Constitutional law scholar Abdul Aziz Bari, in an interview with FMT last month, said the question of Bumiputera status for Indian Muslims did not arise because it was clear in the Federal Constitution that they could qualify as Malays.
The constitution defines a Malay as one who is a Muslim, speaks Malay habitually and practises Malay culture.
Aziz said the term “Bumiputera” did not exist in the Federal Constitution but was used by Umno after 1970 for the purpose of the New Economic Policy.
He also noted that the constitution, in mentioning special rights, referred specifically to the rights of Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.