KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will struggle to emulate Sarawak in being as “aggressive” in pushing Putrajaya to restore its rights since the state government involves peninsula-based parties.
Tony Paridi Bagang of Universiti Teknologi Mara believed that Sabah wanted to be like Sarawak in demanding for its rights and to ensure the state would grow.
“However, the political situation in Sabah is a little different compared to Sarawak, and this is one of the reasons why Sabah is not as aggressive.
“Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is a coalition that comprises local parties whereas Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) is a coalition of local and national parties.
“In this situation, there will be issues or matters that they (Sabahan leaders) will be ‘softer’ in conveying their views to ensure good relations between the state government and the federal government,” he told FMT.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Lee Kuok Tiung said the lack of a two-thirds majority in the state assembly was what hindered Sabah from demanding for their rights, like GPS.
He said changing the title of the post from “chief minister” to “premier” like Sarawak required a two-thirds majority as it involved amending the state’s constitution.
“But it doesn’t mean that there’s no hope because there are still steps that GRS can take,” he told FMT. “Firstly, register GRS so that they have more locus standi (legally).”
Citing a recent meeting between Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor and his Sarawak counterpart, Abang Johari Openg, Lee said it showed that there was cooperation between the two to push for the Bornean states’ rights according to the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
The Sarawak state assembly passed a bill on Tuesday to allow the change of title from “chief minister” to “premier”, following the amendment to the federal constitution to re-establish Sarawak and Sabah as equal partners in Malaysia.
Previously, Sarawak had been able to impose a 5% sales tax on petroleum products, which eventually led to Petronas and its subsidiaries paying RM2.95 billion in state sales tax to the state government. English is also the second official language in the state.
Sabah Bersatu information chief Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan yesterday urged the Sabah government to emulate Sarawak and change the title of “chief minister” to “premier”.
But deputy chief minister Joachim Gunsalam had given a lukewarm response to this, acknowledging that it sounded “nice” but questioned what actual benefit it would yield to the state.
He told FMT he would support the name change only if it meant the gaining of political advantages and the fulfillment of state rights. - FMT
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