By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Feb 14: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government will deliberate on the status of Sarawak, whether to use “wilayah” (region) or another appropriate term, after the tabling of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The Bill which seeks to rename the position of “Chief Minister” to “Premier” as well as “Assistant Minister” to “Deputy Minister” is scheduled to be tabled in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting tomorrow.
Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah in explaining this pointed out that this matter will not be included in tomorrow’s Bill, which he will table.
“We will reach that part when the Bill has been tabled. Then, we will discuss further (on the status of Sarawak) after that,” he said when approached by reporters upon leaving the DUN Complex today.
In April 2021, then-prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin called Sarawak a region (“wilayah”) in acknowledging that Sarawak and Sabah are two entities that formed Malaysia together with Malaya under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
However, the use of the term was not finalised as Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said it will depend on the outcome of the MA63 negotiation between the governments of the two Borneo States and the Federal government.
Meanwhile, on the proposed Bill, Abdul Karim emphasised that it was crucial to put Sarawak in the right perspective in accordance with the formation of the Federation of Malaysia which came about following the merger of the Federation of Malaya, Singapore (which separated from Malaysia in 1965), Sarawak, and North Borneo (Sabah).
“This is a good Bill to put things in the right perspective. I believe all Sarawakians will also like it this way. We do not want to be on par with states like Penang and Melaka,” he added. — DayakDaily
