Universiti Malaya senior lecturer, Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said Sarawak and Sabah could claim the post of second or third deputy prime minister or by rotation such as creating the post of Deputy Prime Minister II or III, or by rotation with Sabah.
“It means one term for Sarawak and another term for Sabah and so on in rotation,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
According to Awang Azman, in fact former Yang di-Pertua Negeri who was also a former Chief Minister of Sarawak Tun Abdul Rahman Yaakub who was then Malaysia’s Education Minister was once offered the post of Deputy Prime Minister by the then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak by inviting him to join UMNO.
However Tun Rahman rejected the offer.
“But for me, what is the point of being a Deputy Prime Minister if only in name and being a puppet. There is nothing, because the people are still the same,” he said.
According to Awang Azman, based on sources from the Malaysian Statistics Department, the poorest state is Sabah with a rate of 25.3 percent, followed by Kelantan with 21.2 percent and Sarawak with a poverty rate of 12.9 percent.
In fact, he said in 2019 some rural areas in the state had the highest poverty rate.
He reasoned that instead of creating the post of DPM 1 or II, it was better to ensure that the posts of Minister of Finance, Minister of Rural Development and Minister of Economy are held by Sabah and Sarawak elected representatives.
“Pursuing the post of DPM is only for prestige and not a greater responsibility in the context of a more strategic ministry.
“This means that what is important is not only how we want to claim the rights of Sarawak. It is not only administrative in nature but needs to have the implications of a larger development allocation and be able to reach ordinary people at the grassroots level,” he said.
He pointed out that the most important thing that Sarawak leaders need to fight for today, is how they should ensure that the people get job opportunities in various sectors and enjoy the abundance of development and the rights they are fighting for.
For example, he said, the overflow of revenue from the oil and gas industry (which should promise employment opportunities) but locals in Miri and Bintulu could only watch because those who got jobs were foreigners and non-Sarawakians.
Even if they were offered jobs, the locals were only given lower level positions.
According to Awang Azman, the people of Sarawak would rather be given a large allocation for infrastructure development in the state than see someone from the state appointed as deputy prime minister.
“What is the point of a Sarawakian holding the number two position when it only benefits one individual, while Sarawak remains the third poorest state in Malaysia,” he said.
He said it would be better for Sarawak to get more development funds that would benefit all Sarawakians, especially in the rural areas and eradicate the rural poverty.
He said the appointment of a deputy prime minister from the people of Sarawak would not necessarily enable the state to get better allocations or be given priority in development projects.
However, he said if Sarawak can get both at once (the post of DPM and benefits) it would be a bonus.
