Lina Soo
KUCHING (Feb 18): Sarawak’s move to change the designation and style of ‘Chief Minister’ to ‘Premier’ is constitutional as it was done through a two-thirds majority support in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN), says Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) president Lina Soo.
She said as long as due constitutional process is carried out through the DUN, the designation change could even be ‘Prime Minister of Sarawak’ – a precedent set by former Prime Minister of Singapore, the late Lee Kuan Yew.
“Article 5 of Annex A Malaysia Bill of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) defines ‘Chief Minister’ and ‘Menteri Besar’ both to mean the president, by whatever style known, of the Executive Council in a State and in particular Chief Minister includes the Prime Minister in Singapore.
“Therefore there is no need for any Sarawak minister to be an apologist over it, and the people of Sarawak should welcome this step because this proves the sanctity and sovereignty of our DUN established as Sarawak General Council on Sept 8, 1867, and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world with the power to make and amend laws,” she said in a statement.
Soo said the Sarawak DUN, originally Sarawak General Council, was Sarawak’s parliament where this simply meant a legislative assembly of elected lawmakers.
As such, she called for the renaming of the DUN to Sarawak Parliament, and for any word which applied to Sarawak as a ‘negeri’ (state) be expunged.
“This is because Sarawak is a nation in the Federation of Malaysia as from our founding in 1841, we have an endemic population, a defined territory, a history, a culture and a government, and is not a ‘negeri’.
“Sarawak’s sovereignty with all intrinsic rights and powers must be guarded and protected with zeal, truth and integrity.”
On another issue, Soo said she concurred with Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee that the Sabah ‘Yang di-Pertua Negeri’ title adopted in 1976 should be restored to the original title of ‘Yang di-Pertua Negara’ for its Head of State.
She said it is an indisputable fact that in MA63 Annex B The Constitution of the State of Sabah, Article 1(1) stipulates that the Head of State for Sabah should be called ‘Yang di-Pertua Negara’.
“This is supported by Article 5 of Annex A Malaysia Bill of MA63 which defines the governor as the Head of State, by whatever style known, in a State not having a Ruler and in particular includes the Yang di-Pertua Negara in Sabah and the Yang di-Pertua Negara in Singapore,” she added.
She said for former British colonies, the title of ‘Governor’ is a British legacy handed down from the British Empire to appoint a local official or administrator to govern its colony by the imperial monarch who is the Queen of Britain.
“I believe that in the age of democracy where the government is elected of the people, for the people and by the people, the term ‘Governor’ should be discarded as it reeks of imperialism and decadence,” she said.
Soo also proposed that the ‘Governor of Sarawak’ under Annex C Constitution of the State of Sarawak annexed to MA63, be amended to Yang di-Pertua Negara Sarawak.