KOTA KINABALU – Sabah opposition parties have expressed support following the announcement by the state government that its cabinet has agreed in principle to approve a two-term limit for the state’s chief minister (CM) post.
Warisan Youth chief Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman told The Vibes the idea of limiting the CM’s term was actually brought up by party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal when Warisan led the state government but he did not have sufficient time to realise the matter.
By limiting the term, it will minimise corruption and abuse of power. When one becomes CM for a very long time, there is a possibility they could strategically position their power to dictate every decision made by the state government based on their personal preferences, and there could be personal interests involved,” he said.
Azis said when Warisan led the state, it was also in the process of increasing the duration of Sabah assembly sittings from three days to at least a week.
This was to ensure sufficient time for each assemblyman to participate in debates as the number of state seats had increased from 60 to 72.
Sabah DAP secretary-general Phoong Jin Zhe also said limiting the CM’s term was a good start for more institutional reform.
He said all four Sabah DAP state representatives would support the state constitutional amendment on the matter if the government was ready to table the bill.
In fact, he said, the proposal to limit CM terms was one of the 36 reform agenda proposals submitted to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor by Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) last year.
“Penang, which is governed by DAP-PH, has amended the state constitution in 2018 to limit the (chief minister’s tenure) to two terms. This has shown our determination to strengthen our democratic institutions.
Many countries around the world such as the United States and France practise a similar policy to prevent absolute power that would lead to absolute corruption,” he said.
Phoong, who is also Sabah PH Youth chief, said while Sabah DAP was happy to see the reform agenda being materialised, Hajiji should not delay the tabling of the bill.
Like Azis, Phoong said he had been disappointed with the short state assembly sittings and wanted them to be made longer, saying that the assemblymen had only sat for eight days this year, which was insufficient to discuss public issues.
Meanwhile, the only Sabah-based party in PH, the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation, also welcomed the decision on CM term limits.
Its president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau said the policy was in line with the memorandum of understanding signed between the government and PH which, among others, stated that the tenure of the prime minister should be similarly limited to two terms.
In 1994, then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad introduced a system whereby the post of Sabah CM was rotated every two years between leaders representing different races and religions, which was designed to unify the state’s people.
However, the rotation system was scrapped after 2004 which allowed then-CM Tan Sri Musa Aman to remain in the position for 15 years from 2003 to 2018. –The Vibes, September 26, 2022
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