KUCHING – The next Malaysian prime minister should look into introducing additional deputy prime minister posts for members of Parliament (MP) from Sarawak and Sabah, said Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice president said this could be an alternative to a bloated federal cabinet.
“There is nothing wrong if we are able to deliver a sufficient number of seats to form and stabilise the new government after the 15th general election.
“Instead of setting up a cabinet of up to 30 or 40 members, maybe (the prime minister) can increase the number of deputy prime ministers. If that helps to make everybody happy, why not?” he told a press conference after launching the inaugural Engage and Taste (EAT): Taste of Borneo Conference 2022 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching today.
Abdul Karim also hopes the 10th prime minister will appoint MPs from Sarawak and Sabah to important ministries in the federal government that could help in the development of the two states.
“We can see that development in Sarawak and Sabah is still lagging behind so we still need ministries where the minister is from Sarawak or Sabah because they know better what are the areas that need attention and development.
“Not saying the ministers from West Malaysia are not good, but the problem is that when somebody gets appointed, they hardly come down here. You can check in a year how many times they come to Sarawak.
“We want something like this to change so whoever becomes the prime minister needs to consider this,” he said.
At the same time, Abdul Karim noted that such a move is only possible if Sarawak and Sabah deliver as many seats as possible for the next government.
“If we are going to be the kingmaker, if after the election the seats in the peninsula are split into many factions, probably they need Sarawak and Sabah then. At that time, we can demand (it). But if we’re not the kingmaker there’s nothing much we can do.
“The important thing now is to win. There are 31 seats, I hope Sarawakians will unite. If we can win all 31, go for it. With more seats, our bargaining power will be more,” he said.
Abdul Karim urged the people to support local-based parties like Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“We have seen it in Sarawak, local-based parties are the way to go. We cannot have all those parties that are established and their bosses in Semenanjung determine how it’s going to go in Sarawak and Sabah.
“Luckily we have GPS, we determine and make our own decisions. We don’t have to refer to Kuala Lumpur, but this is not happening in Sabah,” he added. – Borneo Post Online, October 14, 2022
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