Sarawak DAP blasts ‘concentration of power’ in CM’s hands

 

Chong Chieng Jen says GPS’ strong majority should not be taken as an endorsement for Abang Johari Openg to ‘do as he wishes’.

PETALING JAYA: Sarawakians should be concerned about the “unprecedented concentration of power” in the hands of chief minister Abang Johari Openg, says state DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen.

On Thursday, Abang Johari announced the appointment of 10 ministers and 26 assistant ministers in the new state Cabinet,

This saw the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition chairman also holding positions as the finance and new economy minister; natural resources and urban development minister; and energy and environmental sustainability minister.

Chong noted that while Sarawakians had handed GPS a resounding win at last month’s state elections, the coalition’s strong majority should not be taken as an endorsement by the people for Abang Johari to “do as he wishes”.

“There is an unprecedented concentration of power in the hands of the chief minister, with the other ministers holding crumbs,” said Chong in a statement.

“Each and every one of (Abang Johari’s) portfolios involves multi-billion-ringgit allocations annually and they are all now under the control of one person.”

Apart from that, Chong said Abang Johari would also have “de facto direct control” over areas such as law, native law and customs, state-federal relations, immigration and labour through John Sikie Tayai, the minister in the chief minister’s department.

Chong added that with the state-owned Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS) and Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) having billions of ringgit at their disposal, it was “all the more pertinent” for the positions of chief minister and finance minister not to be held by the same person.

He also questioned whether GPS had learned from the 1MDB scandal, which Chong claimed was made possible because the prime minister also held the finance minister’s post.

Stating that the Cabinet of 11 ministers and 26 assistant ministers was “bloated”, considering Sarawak’s population of three million, Chong said it paled in comparison with the “over-sized” federal government, which consisted of 31 ministers and 38 deputy ministers serving a population of 32 million.

“Is Abang Johari’s Cabinet super inefficient — even compared to the federal government — that he needs so many of them to do the job?” - FMT