KUCHING: The Prime Minister has been urged to honour the 4th pillar of promises outlined in Pakatan Harapan’s ‘Rebuilding Our Nation, Fulfilling Our Hopes’ by appointing Ministers and Deputy Ministers from Sarawak.
The list of Ministers and Deputy Ministers which went viral showed that Sarawak will only have a Minister and Deputy Minister while Sabah will have three Ministers.
DAP Serian chairman Edward Luwak said that the 4th pillar refers to ‘Return Sabah and Sarawak to the status accorded by the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63)’.
He stated, “MA63 recognised Sarawak as an equal partner for the purpose of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. It was a four-partner agreement signed between Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak but Singapore pulled out in 1965. Each of the partner, their soul and spirit, are separate ‘nations’, teaming up to form a new federation of nations.”
On the 14th General Election (GE14) result, Luwat pointed out that PH partners in Sarawak contributed 10 seats with six from DAP and PKR (four) which was inflated to 12 after two independent candidates joined PKR.
“The 4th pillar of promises must have contributed to the better showing by PH in GE14. The seats won increased by four from the previous six. Popular votes greatly increased in practically all constituencies contested. That swing of support has to be recognised and Sarawak has to be rewarded. Ideally, Sarawak should be considered to have two Ministers and three Deputies.
“Sarawakians are not happy. They are dismayed if indeed Sarawak will only get a full minister and a deputy minister. It is just mocking Sarawak.
“In terms of size, Sarawak is the biggest region, almost as big as the whole of Peninsular Malaysia. Just a Minister and a Deputy Minister will not be enough to travel the length and breadth of Sarawak. Other Ministers and Deputy Ministers will give priority to their states when it comes to travelling duties.
“Sarawakians will want to meet, greet and hear their leaders. They are more comfortable with Ministers and Deputy Ministers who are ‘sons’ of Sarawak.
“We therefore hope that the PM will seriously include another Sarawakian to the Cabinet. Park him in the PM’s Department first, maybe, in-charge of Sarawak Affairs. Indeed we have many local affairs that affect nation building,” he added.
