Sarawak Constitution (Amendment) Bill is to put things in right perspective in the journey to reclaim state's rights

 KUCHING, February 14, 2022 -   Datuk Sri Karim Rahman Hamzah  today said the tabling of the Sarawak Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the State Assembly tomorrow is essentially to put Sarawak in the right perspective in its continuous journey to reclaim its rights as equal partner in the formation of Malaysia.

Picture: Datuk Sri Karim Rahman Hamzah says Sarawak cannot be on par with small states in Malaya

He said it is also to enable  the Sarawak government to handle more of its autonomy.

“We are just fine-tuning what we should be when Malaysia was formed because during the formation, there were five signatories namely the United Kingdom, Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak,” the Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister, told reporters.

“But after Malaysia was formed, the last two entities namely Sabah and Sarawak seemed to have diluted and become just like any of the small states that are in the Federation of Malaya.

“So that is why we have to put things in the right perspective.

“Although our Chief Minister’s post will be renamed as ‘Premier’, there will be no significant change to his role.

“I have also cited the designation of “assistant ministers” which has also been proposed under the Bill to be renamed “Deputy Ministers”.

“The term assistant minister had previously created a lot of confusion where we had assistant ministers who went on official duties overseas but were treated as though they were “assistants” to the full ministers when they should not be.

“So the proper term for them should be “Deputy Minister so that everybody will know their stature.

“Likewise for the Chief Minister, I don’t think we would want to be on par with Penang or Melaka. “When we formed Malaysia, the signatories for the federated and unfederated Malay states, there was only one representing them.

“But when Malaysia was formed, the situation had changed and (they) cannot tell us that we should be alright with being on the same par with other states,” Karim, who is also the Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, said.

He said he believed generally fellow Sarawakians will be receptive towards the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that he will table tomorrow.

“I won’t be able to generalise or see what is the full response yet but those that have texted me have expressed that they are very happy with the Bill that I am going to table tomorrow.

“I will wait until tomorrow for the full deliberation because it will be too premature for me to comment on the Bill today.

“As it is, I can see that Sarawakians understand and they like the Bill and the proposed change,” he said.

 

Why Sarawak's head of government is not renamed prime minister?

 Commentary by Simon Peter

Many Sarawakians would have preferred to see our head of government  be renamed Prime Minister, instead of Premier, to replace the current term Chief Minister as sought by the amendment to the State Constitution to be tabled in the current sitting of the State Assembly.

Picture: Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg will be referred to as Premier of Sarawak

Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government and Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg are very much aware of what the people are really wishing for.

Abang Johari is also equally aware that calling  himself as the prime minister of Sarawak may have dire consequences and may lead to unwanted friction with the federal government.

It can also be deemed as unconstitutional as Malaysia can only have one prime minister under the Federal Constitution.

Abang Johari and other GPS top leaders also know to what extent they can go to, without causing suspicion among the federal government.

Perhaps, they must have carefully studied, conducted thorough research and consulted constitutional law experts before coming up with  the term premier in place of the chief minister for the head of Sarawak government.

We can see that the GPS government is looking at the Australian system of government set-up as a model. The head of the executive branch of the Australian state governments is referred to as premier, not as prime minister.

Only the head of the federal government of Australia is positioned as the prime minister. Such a set-up has worked well for Australia.

It is also reminded that after the amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution, Sarawak, Sabah and Malaya are equal partners under a bigger umbrella called the Federation of Malaysia.

It is appropriate that the head of the executive branch of the Sarawak government be renamed premier while the country’s head of government is called prime minister.

Perhaps, Sabah can follow Sarawak as it always did with other important matters in the past.

Renaming the  name of the head of government from the chief minister to the premier is a step in the right direction.

It is in keeping up with the recent amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution that had restored the status of Sarawak and Sabah to their original positions before the Article was amended in 1976.

The 1976 amendment downgraded the status of Sarawak and Sabah as among the  states in Malaysia.

Some may argue that the name-change is another right being returned to Sarawak from the federal government since the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem and his successor Abang Johari became  the chief minister since 2014.

In the years to come, perhaps, within the five-year term of the GPS state government, more rights will be returned to Sarawak from the federal government.

GPS, in its state election manifesto, had pledged to reclaim more state’s rights that have been eroded or surrendered, either knowingly or unknowingly, over the years since 1963.

Therefore, it will not be surprising for Sarawakians if more rights are taken back in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarawak's head of government should be named prime minister, not premier, argues PBK president

KUCHING, February 14, 2022 - Replacing the term “Chief Minister” with “Premier” for Sarawak’s head of government is not appropriate and an alien title in any democratic country, Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan said today.

Picture: PBK president says alien to refer head of government as premier

He said the most appropriate term should be “Prime Minister” which is consistent with what Singapore had done when it was part of the Federation of Malaysia.

“(Head of government) Lee Kuan Yew was addressed as Prime Minister of Singapore,” Voon said when commenting on the proposed change of the term from chief minister to premier under the Sarawak Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2022 to be tabled in the State Assembly tomorrow.

He said both the federal and Sarawak constitutions should recognise Sabah and Sarawak as countries and their heads of state be addressed as Yang Di-Pertuan Negara, not Yang Di-Pertua Negeri.

“This will put Sabah and Sarawak to the position before 1976,” he said, referring to the amendment to the Federal Constitution that downgraded the status of Sarawak and Sabah as among the states in Malaysia.

On the proposed amendment to the definition of “the Federation” under Article 44 of the State Constitution, Voon argued that it has led to acknowledgment by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government that Sarawak is indeed a colony of Malaya.

“This also shows that the analysis by many politicians and lawyers that Sarawak is a colony of Malaya should not be put to doubt anymore.  

“By referring “the Federation” as the Federation that was first established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 clearly refers to Malaya.

“The amendment refers to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement 1963. It states that by this Malaysia Agreement 1963 Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were federated with the Federation of Malaya.

“The federation was called the Federation of Malaysia and GPS government should be aware that Federation of Malaysia refers to the Federation of Malaya,” he asserted.

Voon said in the United Nations, record exists to show that the Federation of Malaysia indeed refers to the Federation of Malaya, adding that it was a change of name only from Malaya to Malaysia. “Therefore, Malaysia is Malaya and Malaya is Malaysia. This advice of change of name was made by Dato Ong Yoke Lin, the Permanent Secretary to the United Nations from the Federation of Malaya, in a letter addressed to the United Nations on 16 September, 1963,” he said.

“Although the word, “federated” is used, but, in political sense Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were taken by Malaya to enlarge the territories of Malaya by a stroke of a pen with the help of the United Kingdom.

“In a book, it was stated that Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were a gift to Malaya from the British. “This “gift” was a “political coup” engineered by Tunku Abdul Rahman with the help of the British.

“For this reason, parliament and most cabinet post in the federal government are controlled by Malaya,” he said.

79 State Assemblymen pledge loyalty to Sarawak, country, three others under home quarantine for Covid-19

KUCHING, February 14, 2022 - Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg led 79 state assemblymen in taking their oath of loyalty to the state and country and pledge to uphold the State and Federal Constitutions at a ceremony at the State Assembly building today.

Picture: Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg and Gedong State Assemblyman the first to take the oath of loyalty.

The oath-taking ceremony was held before the House Speaker Tan Sri Asfia Awang Nasar.

Abang Johari, who is also Gedong State Assemblyman, was followed by Deputy Chief Minister (1) and Bukit Saban State Assemblyman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.

However, three State Assemblymen Datuk Sebastian Ting (Piasau), Datuk Len Talif Salleh (Kuala Rajang) and Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii (Repok) could not make it to the oath-taking as they are currently under home quarantine as patients under surveillance (PUS) after having close contacts with Covid-19 positive cases.

Asfia said he has granted leave of absence to Len Talif and Huang for the whole of the three-day sitting of the State Assembly while Ting was given leave of absence for today and tomorrow’s sittings.

Five bills will be tabled and debated tomorrow and on Wednesday.

Picture: Deputy Chief Minister and State Assemblyman for Bukit Saban Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah

The bills include the Sarawak Constitution (Amendment) Bill and Interpretation (Amendment) Bill.

The Constitution amendment bill seeks to rename the words “Chief Minister” with the word “Premier” in line with the recent amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution that restored the status of Sarawak and Sabah as equal partners to Malaya in the Federation.

Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah will tabled the bill tomorrow.

The Interpretation bill will be tabled by the Assistant Minister in the Assistant Minister of Law, Malaysia Agreement (MA63) and State-Federal Relations Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.

The bill seeks to define a person, who is a citizen and is a natural child of a parent of race indigenous to Sarawak and satisfies the conditions and requirements imposed by the State Cabinet for recognition of such a person, as a native of Sarawak.

The races defined as natives to Sarawak are Bidayuh or Land Dayaks, Bukitan, Bisayah, Dusun, Ibans or Sea Dayaks’, Kadayan, Kelabit, Kayan, Kenyah (including Sabup and Sipeng), Kajang (including Sekapan, Kejaman, Lahanan, Punan, Tanjong and Kanowit), Lugat, Lisum, Malay, Melanau, Murut or Lun Bawang, Penan, Sian, Tagal, Tabun, Ukit and any admixture of these races with one another.

In the state election held on December 18, 2021  Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) swept 76 out of the 82 State Assembly seats, while the Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) won four and DAP Sarawak, two seats.