“In the last election, the promise was made but not incorporated in the manifesto. When PH became the government, we worked hard to fulfil our manifesto promises first,” DAP policy bureau chief Chan Foong Hin said at a press conference here.
“The creation of the deputy prime minister’s post is at the discretion of the prime minister. This time around, our candidate for the prime minister’s post, (PH chairman) Anwar Ibrahim, has agreed to this proposal.”
He added that including it in the election manifesto will assure voters in Sabah and Sarawak of the coalition’s sincerity.
At an event in Sandakan, Sabah, last Sunday, Anwar proposed having two deputy prime ministers, one from the peninsula and the other from Sabah or Sarawak, if the coalition wins GE15.
Chan said it had always been PH’s intention to offer a deputy prime minister’s post to an MP from Sabah or Sarawak, stating that the coalition’s offer is more comprehensive than that of Barisan Nasional (BN).
He also questioned caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s reluctance to publicly commit to the call by BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for an additional deputy prime minister’s post to be given to Sabah and Sarawak if BN wins GE15, stating that this showed BN was not sincere about empowering both states.
According to Chan, under the BN government, the minister in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs is only tasked with reviewing the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and had no decision-making power in the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Upko president Madius Tangau said that under PH, a deputy prime minister from Sabah and Sarawak will help safeguard the rights of the two states and streamline federal funds to ensure there was more development in the region.
“Some funds and policies are specific to the peninsula because Sabah and Sarawak have autonomy, such as for agriculture, public works, water, electricity and so on,” he said.
“As a result, development in Sabah – such as in the agricultural sector – has lagged (behind the peninsula) and even became stagnant.
“In the peninsula, rice production can reach up to 10 metric tonnes a year. In Sabah, we are still producing a mere two metric tonnes a year as we are only funded through the state coffers and just receive a token sum from Putrajaya.”