By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 24: The decision to change the name of the ‘Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak’ (Sarawak State Legislative Assembly) to ‘Dewan Undangan Sarawak’ (Sarawak Legislative Assembly) is fitting, considering the recognition of Sarawak as a region.
According to a Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) news report, the Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63, and State-Federal Relations), Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, said the changes were in line with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the previous recognition of Sarawak as a region.
“It is appropriate for us to refer to it as the Sarawak Legislative Assembly, not the State Legislative Assembly.
“It coincides with MA63 because we are a region, not a state,” she was quoted as saying in the news report.
Sharifah Hasidah made the remarks to reporters after attending the ‘Program Jom Baca bersama 10 Minit & Dekad Membaca Kebangsaan 2024’, which was held yesterday (April 23) at the Sarawak State Library in Petra Jaya here.
She was asked to comment on a recent Facebook post by Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.
In the post, Dr Sim stated that the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is now known as the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.
He mentioned that it is time for all Sarawakians to support this small yet significant change.
Dr Sim further noted that former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had accorded recognition to Sarawak’s status as a region.
Meanwhile, regarding the question of whether the Federal Constitution or the Sarawak Constitution needs to be amended to remove the word ‘state’, Sharifah Hasidah mentioned that further study would be required.
“From a legal standpoint, we will make a portfolio, evaluate what we should implement.
“We make amendments, we update laws, we continually carry out this process,” she remarked. — DayakDaily
