KUALA LUMPUR – The Sarawak assembly is scheduled to see the tabling of a bill that seeks to change the formal designation of the state government’s top executive from “chief minister” to “premier”.
The Borneo Post reported this based on a copy of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2022, which the newspaper sighted.
It said that according to the copy, the proposed move would involve an amendment to Article 6(3) of the constitution, which among others substitutes the words “chief minister’ with the word “premier”.
This bill is slated to be tabled on Tuesday by state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The bill also proposes an amendment to Article 7A to change the designation of “assistant minister” to “deputy minister”, it added. The report noted that this would impact all 26 assistant ministers currently working in the state.
“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 Borneo Post reported.
If passed, the ordinance shall come into force on a date appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri by notification in the gazette, it added. – The Vibes, February 13, 2022
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