KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan Harapan (PH) has vowed to create a second deputy prime minister’s seat specifically for Sabah and Sarawak if it wins in the upcoming 14th general election (GE14), reports Free Malaysia Today (FMT) today.
Sabah PH chairwoman Christina Liew said it would facilitate better representation of interests of the two Bornean states at the federal level.
When asked on the possibility of having an East Malaysian as the prime minister, she said: “We can propose to give the prime minister’s post also, if that is the sentiment of Sabahans who want to see a true representation of equality under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.”
However, she pointed out that according to the Federal Constitution, the prime minister must be the leader of a party or coalition that enjoys the largest majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Liew, who is also state Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief, made these remarks at a press conference after the soft launch of PH’s manifesto for Sabah here yesterday. Also present was PH president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The manifesto includes a promise to return 50 per cent of federal revenue collected from Sabah back to the state, and to review and act on the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah.
It also assures that a PH government would clean up the electoral roll and emphasiss on education in the state.
Compared to the manifesto of the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat in the last election in May 2013, Liew said the PH manifesto placed more strategic emphasis in addressing the needs and aspirations of Sabahans.
While some of the promises made in the 2013 manifesto were retained in the new one, there was more on the table this time, especially regarding people’s increasing demands for more rights as stipulated in the Malaysia Agreement.
She added the new manifesto, dubbed “PH New Deal for Sabah and Sarawak”, will be made a part of the PH manifesto for the whole country and took into account the fact that East Malaysians were lagging behind in many fields compared to citizens in Peninsular Malaysia.
Liew also said that this was just the first stage of the PH manifesto launch and the full manifesto would only be revealed after Parliament is dissolved to prevent copycat pledges.
