KUCHING: Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (ASPIRASI) has proposed that the title of ‘Governor of Sarawak’ be amended to ‘Yang di-Pertuan Negara Sarawak’.
Its president Lina Soo agreed with Sabah’s SAPP president Datuk Yong Tech Lee that the Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri title adopted in 1976 should be restored to its original wording.
Yong noted that it was an indisputable fact that in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Annex B the Constitution of the State of Sabah, Article 1(1) stipulated that the Head of State for Sabah should be called the ‘Yang di-Pertua Negara’.
This is supported by Article 5 of Annex A Malaysia Bill of Malaysia Agreement which defines the Governor as the Head of State, by whatever style known, in a State not having a Ruler and in particular includes the Yang di-Pertua Negara in Sabah and the Yang di-Pertuan Negara in Singapore.
Soo said that for former British colonies, the title ‘Governor’ was a British legacy handed down from the British empire to appoint a local official or administrator to govern its colony by the imperial monarch who was the Queen of Britain.
“In the age of democracy where the government is elected of the people for the people by the people, the term ‘Governor’ should be discarded as it reeks of imperialism and decadence.
“Thus, the Governor of Sarawak as in Annex C Constitution of the State of Sarawak annexed to Malaysia Agreement should be amended to Yang di-Pertuan Negara Sarawak,” she said in a statement yesterday (Feb 17).
On the furore over the renaming of ‘Chief Minister’ to ‘Premier’, Soo pointed out that Article 5 of Annex A Malaysia Bill of MA63 defined ‘Chief Minister’ and ‘Menteri Besar’ both to mean the president, adding by whatever style known of the Executive Council in the state and in particular ‘Chief Minister’ included the Prime Minister in Singapore.
“By the qualification of ‘by whatever style known’, I believe it is constitutional for Sarawak through a two-third majority in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) to amend ‘Chief Minister of Sarawak’ to ‘Sarawak Premier’ and even to ‘Prime Minister of Sarawak’. This is precedent set by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, as long as due constitutional process is carried through DUN.
“Therefore, there is no need for Sarawak ministers to be apologist over it and the people of Sarawak should welcome this step because this proves the sanctity and sovereignty of our Sarawak DUN established as Sarawak General Council on Sept 8 in 1867.
“It is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world with the power to make and amend laws,” she said.
Soo pointed out that the Sarawak DUN which was originally the Sarawak General Council was the Sarawak parliament where parliament essentially and simply meant a legislative assembly of elected lawmakers.
She supported the renaming of DUN to Sarawak Parliament and said any word which referred Sarawak as a ‘Negeri’ should be expunged.
“This is because Sarawak is a nation in the federation of Malaysia as from our founding in 1841, we have an endemic population, a defined territory, a history, a culture and a government thus not a ‘negeri’.
“Sarawak’s sovereignty with all its intrinsic rights and powers must be guarded and protected with zeal, truth and integrity,” she added.
