KUCHING, Dec 18 — Chong Chieng Jen has hoped that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will change how it governs the state in view of the historic confidence-and-supply agreement (CSA) between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) for the new Perak government.
The Sarawak DAP chief claimed that GPS was running the state in “the most exclusive and opaque manner”.
He alleged that the ruling coalition still deprived opposition assemblymen of allocation for their constituency, excluded them from the its action committees, kept the public accounts committee (PAC) chairman’s post to only the backbenchers, and refused to recognise the position of the opposition leader in the state legislature.
“The operation of State Government agencies remains shielded from scrutiny by the opposition ADUNs. Such agencies include the major agencies like the DBOS and Petros which involve billions of State fund,” he said.
“As Perak’s politics has now move forward for more openness, co-operation and inclusive, it is high time for Sarawak’s GPS to abandon its archaic practice of the last century,” he said in a statement.
Chong said the Perak CSA between PN and PH was a new political milestone of reform in the country, a turning point in Malaysian politics for the better.
He pointed out that there were systematic reforms in that the opposition lawmakers would chair the state legislature’s PAC to provide better check on the executive’s power, and that all assemblymen would have equal constituency allocation.
“It replaces the confrontational politics of two coalitions into a multi-partisan and multilateral co-operation for a more stable political environment without compromising the need for check and balance,” he said.
On Wednesday, Datuk Saarani Mohamad received the unanimous support of Perak assemblymen to continue as the state’s chief executive, including from Opposition representatives.
When a motion of confidence was tabled in the state legislative assembly, all assemblymen present stood up to show their support for Saarani.
Umno’s Kota Tampan assemblyman was sworn in as the new mentri besar on December 10, replacing Bersatu’s Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu who was forced out of office through a vote of confidence a week earlier. — Borneo Post Online
