KUCHING: The endorsement of the (Amendment) Bill 2022 to substitute the words ‘Chief Minister’ with the word ‘Premier’ is a positive development for Sarawak, said Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) political analyst Dr Lee Kuok Tiung.
“It reflects indirectly the status of Sarawak and Sabah as a province and an equivalent partner of the Federation of Malaysia,” he said when contacted by Suara Sarawak.
Earlier, the amendment to the bill also involved the change of the term ‘Assistant Minister’ to ‘Deputy Minister’.
The bill tabled by the Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah on Monday (Feb 14) was keenly debated by several assemblymen from the government and the opposition.
The motion received support from 67 assemblymen while six opposition assemblymen objected with four other members absent.
Lee also hoped there would come a time when the Sarawak State Assembly could be renamed ‘Sarawak Parliament’ to reflect Sarawak’s autonomy.
“Firstly, it pays attention to Sarawak’s autonomy in the Federation of Malaysia and secondly, it also gives us confidence to claim other rights under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63) as many more rights need to be pursued.
“To me it would be a stepping stone to pursue further ongoing issues related to gas and oil,” he said.
Going back to the ‘Premier’ topic, Lee argued it was higher than the ‘Chief Minister’ but lower than the ‘Prime Minister’, explaining that the status was “between the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister”.
“Maybe after this, more suitable terms will be proposed in the Malay language.
“However, what is of importane is that all parties, including the opposition, must cooperate to reclaim our MA63 rights,” he said.
