KUCHING, Feb 15 — The chief minister of Sarawak should be called the ‘prime minister’ instead of the term ‘premier’ as proposed in the amendment to the State Constitution, said Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan.

 "The term ‘premier’ in the amendment to replace ‘Chief Minister’ is a title alien in any democratic country. The most appropriate term should be ‘prime minister’.

"This will also be consistent with what Singapore did. Lee Kuan Yew was addressed as ‘Prime Minister of Singapore’ when Singapore was part of Malaysia,” said Voon in a statement.

To put things right, Voon said both the federal and Sarawak constitutions should recognise Sabah and Sarawak as countries and their heads of state be addressed as Yang Di Pertuan Negara, not Yang Di Pertua Negeri.

This will put Sabah and Sarawak to the position before 1976, he suggested.

Voon said the Bill to amend Article 44 of the State Constitution had led to acknowledgment by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government that Sarawak was indeed a colony of Malaya.

He said this had showed that the analysis by many politicians and lawyers that Sarawak was a colony of Malaya should not be put to doubt anymore.

 "By referring ‘the Federation’, as the Federation that was first established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, it clearly refers to Malaya. The amendment refers to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.”

Under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, Voon said Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were federated with the Federation of Malaya.

"The federation was called the Federation of Malaysia and GPS government should be aware that Federation of Malaysia refers to the Federation of Malaya.”

In the United Nations, Voon said record exists to show that the ‘Federation of Malaysia’ was indeed referred to as the ‘Federation of Malaya’ and there was only a change of name only from ‘Malaya’ to ‘Malaysia’.

Voon said the advice of change of name was made by Datuk Ong Yoke Lin, the Permanent Secretary to the United Nations from the Federation of Malaya, in a letter addressed to the United Nations on Sept 16, 1963.

"Although the word ‘federated’ is used but in political sense, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were taken by Malaya to enlarge the territories of Malaya by a stroke of a pen with the help of the United Kingdom.”

In a book, Voon said it was stated that Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were a gift to Malaya from the British.

"This ‘gift’ was a ‘political coup’ engineered by (the first prime minister) Tunku Abdul Rahman with the help of the British. For this reason, parliament and most cabinet posts in the federal government are controlled by Malaya,” said Voon.

According to a copy of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2022 sighted by The Borneo Post yesterday, Article 6(3) of the State Constitution will be amended, which amongst others, substitutes the words ‘Chief Minister’ with the word ‘Premier’.

Also proposed is an amendment to Article 44 of the State Constitution on the interpretation of ‘Premier’ to mean the chief minister who is appointed under Article 6(3) of the Constitution, and any reference to the chief minister in any written law shall then refer to the ‘Premier’.

The Bill will be tabled at a special State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting being held now until Feb 16. — Borneo Post