Sabah DUN approve removal of state governor's tenure limit

SABAH DUN | The special sitting of the Sabah state legislative assembly has passed a motion brought by the state government to remove the two-term limit of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

A total of 45 state assemblypersons out of 64 voted for the amendment of state constitution while 15 representatives voted against it. Five representatives were absent from the sitting.

According to the motion sighted by Malaysiakini, the Sabah state government had been in a bid to delete Article 2(3) of the state constitution, which refers to the term limit of the state governor.

The clause that was sought to be deleted read: "A person shall not hold office as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri for more than two terms either continuously or otherwise".

The motion will thus allow the current state governor Juhar Mahiruddin (photo), whose term ends on Jan 2, 2019, to remain in office for a possible third term. He was first appointed to the post on Jan 2, 2011, and sworn in for his second term on Jan 1, 2015.

At present, Warisan and its allies control 45 seats in the 64-seat assembly, more than the two-thirds threshold needed to amend the Constitution.

Beside this, the assembly also convened today to seek to strengthen the state government's regulatory control over the mining activities in Sabah.

This is being done via the amendment of Sabah's Mining Ordinance 1960 by making clearer the state government's regulatory role over oil and gas and mining activities in Sabah.

[More to follow] - Mkini