KOTA KINABALU: Vice President Gerakan Malaysia cum Sabah Chairman Datuk Alexander Lo Su Hyen, expressed his support for the need to align the title of the Chief Minister of Sabah with that of the Premier of Sabah.
In his statement, he emphasized the necessity of viewing this title change as a step towards improvement in line with the amendments to the Federal Constitution, aimed at restoring Sabah’s status as one of the territories within the Federation of Malaysia.
He also stressed the importance of giving due respect to Sabah as a territory and called for the alignment of titles to include modifying the position of Deputy Chief Minister to Deputy Premier.
He expressed his hope that the Sabah State Legislative Assembly would approve these amendments with a majority, including support from the opposition, as it involves the interests of Sabah as a territory on par with Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak within the Federation.
Datuk Alexander Lo also referred to the 1963 Malaysia Agreement as the basis for this proposal, citing examples of the practice of the Premier title in Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada. He hoped that this alignment of titles could be achieved before Malaysia Day in September.
Additionally, Datuk Alexander Lo added that the proposal for title alignment is not extraordinary but rather follows an approach consistent with the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. He emphasized that Sabah, as a partner in the formation of Malaysia in 1963, deserves fair recognition as a territory within the Federation.
He also stressed the importance of the amendments being approved with broad support from the Sabah State Legislative Assembly to ensure parity and equality in Sabah’s position at the Federal level. Furthermore, he expressed his hope that this alignment of titles could be achieved as soon as possible to have a positive impact on Sabah’s relationship with the Federation of Malaysia.-pr/BNN
