The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building stands on the Petra Jaya side of the Sarawak River. – Borneo Post pic
KUCHING, Feb 13 — A constitutional amendment seeking to rename the Sarawak chief minister’s post as ‘Premier’ will be proposed at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting next week.
According to a copy of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2022 sighted by The Borneo Post today, it will involve amending Article 6(3) of the Constitution which amongst others substitutes the words ‘Chief Minister’ with the word ‘Premier’.
Also proposed is an amendment to Article 44 of the State Constitution on the interpretation of ‘Premier’ to mean the chief minister who is appointed under Article 6(3) of the Constitution, and any reference to the chief minister in any written law shall then refer to the ‘Premier’.
The Bill also proposes an amendment to Article 7A of the State Constitution to change the designation of ‘Assistant Ministers’ to ‘Deputy Ministers’.
If approved, the 26 current Assistant Ministers in Sarawak will become Deputy Ministers.
According to the Bill, the Ordinance, once passed, shall come into force on the date appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri by notification in the gazette.
This Bill is scheduled to be tabled at the DUN on Tuesday by Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The second and third readings of the Bill will be done on the same day.
The Bill is one of the five bills to be tabled at the Special DUN Sitting which starts tomorrow (February 14). — Borneo Post