Sarawak assembly passes bill to change 'Chief Minister' title to 'Premier'

KUCHING: The Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2022 which contains a clause to change the designation of 'Chief Minister' to 'Premier' was passed by the State Legislative Assembly today.

Tabled by the State Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the bill was passed with more than two-thirds majority when 67 members voted in favour, while six members opposed.

Abdul Karim said the amendment was in accordance with the amendment of the Federal Constitution enforced last week.

To explain the adoption of 'Premier' to substitute 'Chief Minister' under Article 6(3) of the Sarawak Constitution, he said it was a similar set-up practised in other Commonwealth regions.

"The Head of the Federation is styled as Prime Minister and Heads of Regions constituting the Federation is styled as Premier, while the other subregions or states are headed by Chief Ministers," he said.

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Also proposed in the Bill is the redesignation of 'Assistant Minister' to 'Deputy Minister'.

Abdul Karim said the redesignation was necessary in view of the responsibilities that they hold and exercise.

"The designation of 'Assistant Minister' is re-styled as 'Deputy Minister' to better reflect their functions and responsibilities," he said.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (GPS-Dudong) when debating the Bill said Sarawak should strive for more autonomy powers by passing appropriate resolutions or amending other related portions of the State Constitution.

"Matters involving the interests and rights of the people of Sarawak must be prioritised. So too must subjects involving household income, employment opportunities and infrastructure development in Sarawak," he said.

Chong Chieng Jen (PH-Padungan), meanwhile, raised the issue of the term 'Premier' in the Bill which could be confusing once translated into Bahasa Malaysia.

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He said the august house should make a stand to come up with a standard term for this title in Bahasa Malaysia before proceeding to pass the Bill.

Baru Bian (PSB-Ba'Kelalan) in his debate speech said the bill was unconstitutional as the Federal Constitution at the moment referred to Sarawak's head of executive as Chief Minister and nowhere in the nation's supreme law that the position being mentioned as 'Premier'.

"It would be better to take concrete steps which will benefit Sarawak and Sarawakians tangibly, rather than rushing into a name change that may bring some self-gratification but may ultimately be criticised for being unconstitutional," he said.

Fazzruddin Abdul Rahman (GPS-Tupong) said changing the title would provide a distinction of the Sarawak's chief executive to that of the Chief Ministers of Melaka and Penang.

"What is more important is the spirit behind the introduction of this new word or title to signify the difference of the three partners forming Malaysia," he added.

-- BERNAMA