KUCHING: It is now referred to as the Sarawak Legislative Assembly in tandem with Sarawak’s recognition as a region.
The change in name, from the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly to the Sarawak Legislative Assembly, is thus deemed appropriate by Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Law, MA63, and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali
She said the change is in line with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the recognition of Sarawak as a region.
“So 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 said to reporters after attending the Program Jom Baca bersama 10 Minit & Dekad Membaca Kebangsaan 2024 at the Sarawak State Library here Tuesday.
She was asked to comment on a Facebook post by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr. Sim Kui Hian, recently.
In the post, Dr. Sim had said that the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is now known as the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.
He said it is time for all Sarawakians to support this small yet significant change.
He mentioned that former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had accorded recognition to Sarawak’s status as a region.
He believed it reflects Sarawak’s status as a region in Malaysia after the Sarawak government enacted laws in February 2022 to change the title ‘Chief Minister of Sarawak’ to ‘Premier of Sarawak’.”
“Let us be consistent and start with us (the people of Sarawak) not calling Sarawak a ‘state’.
“So the correct term is the Sarawak government, not the Sarawak state government,” he said.
As to whether the Federal Constitution or the Sarawak Constitution must be amended to remove the word ‘state’, Hasidah said this matter would have to be studied.
“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 said.
