BY NATASHA JEE & TANIA LAM
KUCHING: The second day of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today ran smoothly, starting at around 9.16am.
Shortly after commencement, DUN Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar called on DUN members to observe one minute of silence to commemorate the passing of past leaders in Sarawak.
Following this was the first reading of five Bills – Supplementary Supply (2021) Bill, 2022; Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2022; Interpretation (Amendment) Bill, 2022; Sago and Nipah Development Board Bill, 2022; and Sarawak Rubber Industry Board Bill, 2022.
Next, came the second reading of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2022 by Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah. Sixteen assemblypersons debated on this Bill.
Among the highlights of the day was that during the debate of the Bill – which among others, sought to rename “Chief Minister” to “Premier” – Violet Yong (DAP-Pending) said when she first read the word “Premier”, what came to her mind was the Premier brand tissue paper.
“The other things which I could relate the word Premier to is the bank’s Premier Credit Card or the name of a place in Kuching like Premier 101,” she said.
Wilfred Yap (SUPP-Kota Sentosa) then stood up and said that, “Under Standing Order 32 (1), members are to confined their observations to the subject under discussion.
“So, the introduction of things like tissue paper, credit cards, and all that, is not proper under Standing Order 32 (1). I don’t think the august House should be subjected to this kind of rhetoric,” he said.
The argument between the two had later on also saw Yong calling Yap a “newbie”.
However, after a long debate, the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed after the third reading.
Then came the second reading of the Interpretation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, which was debated on by 12 assemblypersons.
This was followed by the third reading and passing of the Interpretation (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The DUN sitting adjourned at 4.56pm.
It will resume on Wednesday (Feb 16) – the final day of the sitting.
