KUCHING, February 15, 2022 - Sarawak PKR information chief Abun Sui Anyit today urged Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government not to be scared to officially rename Sarawak’s head of government as prime minister instead of premier as being sought under the Sarawak Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2022.
He said it is “alang alang” or half-hearted effort by the GPS government to use the term “premier” that does not mean much.
“After all, Sarawak is an equal partner to Malaya in the Federation of Malaysia so why not rename the chief minister’s post as prime minister?” he asked when commenting on the amendment bill that will be tabled in the Sarawak Assembly later today.
He said he is sure that Sarawakians, generally, will give their “super” support to rename the term chief minister with prime minister.
“There should not be any problem for Sarawak to have the prime minister as we are a country within the Federation of Malaysia,” he said.
Abun, who is also a practising lawyer, said it is not unconstitutional or illegal to call Sarawak’s head of government prime minister instead of chief minister.
He said it is not too late for the GPS to make changes to the amendment bill to rename the term premier to prime minister in place of chief minister.
Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Sri Karim Rahman Hamzah is due to table the amendment bill in the State Assembly this morning.
The bill seeks to amend Article 6(3) by substituting the words “ chief minister” with the word “premier”.
The bill also seeks to amend Article 7A by substituting the words “assistant ministers” with the words “deputy ministers”.
The bill also seeks to interpret the definition of “the Federation" under Article 44 to mean the “Federation that was first established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 and further pursuant to an Agreement concluded on the ninth day of July, nineteen hundred and sixty-three between the United Kingdom of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore, the Federation is called Malaysia with the Colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak and the State of Singapore federated with the existing States of the Federation of Malaya as the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in accordance with the constitutional instruments annexed thereto but under and by virtue of the Agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign State dated seventh day of August, nineteen hundred and sixty-five, Singapore has ceased to be a state of Malaysia.”
No comments:
Post a Comment