Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah State Farmers’ Association (PPN) welcomed the proposal to rename the post of Chief Minister to Premier like Sarawak.
Its chairman, Datuk Mohd Nazri Abdullah, said, in line with the spirit of Borneo and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Sabah needs to emulate the footsteps of Sarawak, which is now using Premier.
“The time has come for Sabah to take the same action and step in renaming the Chief Minister position to Premier considering that Sabah and Sarawak are the two regions that form Malaysia,” he said in a statement, Friday.
“Without the regions of Sabah and Sarawak, there is no Malaysia. There is only the Malay Peninsula (Malaya).
“Therefore, renaming the position of Chief Minister to Premier is very important as it will make Sabah more respected as a region on par with the peninsula.”
He commented on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s recent statement regarding the proposal to rename the post.
Hajiji was quoted as saying whether Sabah will rename the position to Premier has been discussed.
He said some quarters want “Premier”, while others prefer “Chief Minister”.
Mohd Nazri is confident that the Unity Government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would give recognition to the Borneo regions, and amendments to the Federal Constitution can be done if Sabah follows the footsteps of Sarawak.
He said Anwar has repeatedly given assurances that he will implement and fulfil all the issues on MA63.
Mohd Nazri also welcomed Hajiji’s proposal to raise the status of Assistant Ministers by naming them as Deputy Ministers and increasing the number of ministries to 14 from the current 11.
Hajiji has proposed this matter, and the State Cabinet has agreed and hopes that the related bill can be tabled in the State Assembly.
According to Mohd Nazri, Sabah is a vast region. It needs more ministries that are specifically created to meet the needs of development and progress of the State.
