KOTA KINABALU, March 12 — It is "not impossible” for a future deputy prime minister or even prime minister to hail from Sabah, Kota Belud MP Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan asserted.

However, he added that it will likely happen only with the support of Malaysians from the peninsula, The Borneo Post reported today.

"If we are strong enough in Parliament and we get some support from peninsular Malaysia, the notion of having a deputy prime minister from Sabah is not impossible.

"But on our own, I do not think we are able to garner the numbers. We need to convince our peers from Peninsular Malaysia that we are as good as them to become the leader of this country,” he was quoted as telling reporters after a meeting with Catholic church leaders from Sepanggar yesterday.

Abdul Rahman said that in order to get the support of their peers, Sabahans need to work harder and prove their worth.

"[We need to] work as hard as they do, as smart as they are and we will tell them that if you choose a Sabahan as a deputy prime minister, or for that matter, the prime minister, we can also run this country equally effectively like everyone else.”

Abdul Rahman who is also a federal minister in the Prime Minister’s Department was asked whether a Sabahan could be the next deputy prime minister as the north Borneo state has six MPs, the highest number of any state, in Parliament.

Sabah, along with Sarawak, is considered the Barisan Nasional coalition’s "fixed deposits” for votes during general elections.