KUCHING: The Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (ASPIRASI) thinks that changing the term Chief Minister’ to ‘Premier’ is a good move, though it feels ‘Prime Minister’ would have been ‘perfect’.
Its president Lina Soo said the constitutional amendment proved the sovereignty and sanctity of the legislative assembly established as Sarawak General Council on September 8, 1867 and was one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world, with the power to make and amend law.
“Explaining that English as the world’s lingua franca is an ambiguous language subject to context, interpretation and translation, it is not inappropriate to redesignate our head of government to ‘Premier’.
“Having ‘Premier’ as title for the Sarawak head of government to distinguish it from the heads of governments of the states of Malaya who are called Chief Ministers is a welcome move, to establish the fact that Sarawak is one of three nations in the federation, and not one of 13 states with 13 chief ministers,” she said in a statement here yesterday (Feb 16).
Soo said the title of Chief Minister was the British colonial legacy where on July 22 1963, the new head of Sarawak government Stephen Kalong Ningkan should have been called Prime Minister instead of Chief Minister, as was Lee Kuan Yew called the Prime Minister of Singapore in 1959 who maintained his title within the federation of Malaysia.
“I would say this was an oversight on the part of the British government with regard to Sarawak then,” she added.
She said the Sarawak government was still shy today for our head of government to carry the title of Prime Minister, unlike Singapore, but the move to ‘Premier’ was still better than none, and it should not be the last move.
She explained that Sarawak’s birth right and status were of a sovereign nation from 1841, though its sovereignty was annexed by the British in 1946, and surrendered to the federation of Malaya, renamed Malaysia in 1963, but the fact remained Sarawak’s national sovereignty was inviolable and sacrosanct which only awaited the will and determination of the Sarawak people for restoration and restitution.
“The new Sarawak Premier must carry the mandate of the people with powers above the Chief Minister of the other nine Malayan states. In foreign relations and diplomacy, Sarawak Premier must be addressed as His Excellency on the international stage as the head of our Sarawak government,” she added
“It was the administration led by the Premier of Western Australia and the Premier of Quebec who gave their people the right to vote to choose their future in independence referendums in 1933 and 1995 respectively, and these governments have set the standards for Sarawak to emulate,” reminded Soo.
On whether the political move was against the Malaysia Agreement, Soo said that the DUN was Sarawak Parliament where Parliament meant a law-making assembly with the power to make and amend laws, and as the amendment had been formalised in DUN with more than two-thirds majority, the legislation was carried and constituted.
Soo cited Article VIII of the Malaysia Agreement which stipulated that the governments of the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak would take such legislative, executive or other action as might be required to implement the assurances, undertakings, and recommendations contained in Chapter 3 of, and Annexes A and B to, the Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee signed on February 27 1963, so long as they were not implemented by express provision of the Constitution of Malaysia.
“Any inconsistency between the Federal and Sarawak Constitutions can be regularised as per Malaysia Agreement, when the Sarawak government had constituted and legislated in DUN first.
“If the Sarawak government cannot legislate to right federal laws which are deemed unconstitutional to Sarawak, then Sarawak would be unable to reject the Petroleum Development Act 1974 and Territorial Sea Act 2012 which has robbed Sarawak of our oil resources and territorial integrity,” she said.
Soo called upon the Premier of Sarawak and government to table two motions to reject the Petroleum Development Act 1974 and Territorial Sea Act 2012, and powered by the Sarawak legislation to demand the federal government to amend both Acts to exclude Sarawak, in order to get back ownership and all economic rights over oil and gas, and continental shelf.
“It’s as simple as that,” said Soo, adding, “Let this change of name for our head of government to Sarawak Premier not be just purely cosmetic but to herald a meaningful and purposeful sequel for the people of Sarawak, to get back our oil, gas, taxes, marine fishes and sovereignty.”
