DAP surprised why no change in state cabinet

MIRI: The assurance by new Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg that he would continue the legacy of his predecessor and put the interests and rights of Sarawak and Sarawakians first has won the hearts of many.

However, the new state cabinet as unveiled by Abang Johari yesterday surprised the opposition.

DAP Sarawak said it was puzzling that the new chief minister did not reshuffle his cabinet and described his holding five portfolios as recordbreaking.

“To me, it cannot be said to be a cabinet reshuffle. It is only retaking of oath to a position affecting a single member of the state cabinet that is Abang Johari as new CM himself,” DAP Sarawak secretary and former Piasau assemblyman Alan Ling Sie Kiong said. He said it was not usual for the state cabinet not to be reshuffled when a new chief minister takes over.

“Abang Johari is creating a record by holding so many cabinet positions at once. He has got to explain why,” he said.

On the other hand, UPP Pujut branch chairman and former Miri City councillor Bruce Chai hoped with the new state cabinet now in place Abang Johari would continue the legacy of the late Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

“We sincerely hope that Abang Johari will continue all the pledges of Tok Nan in the last state election, the negotiation for devolution of powers and increase in oil royalty and use of English language, annual aid to Chinese schools and so forth,” he said.

Chai commended Abang Johari for his pledge of not letting Umno into Sarawak, a stand which Sarawakians felt strongly about and was taken up by Adenan.

He said UPP led by party president and Second Minister of Finance Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh would work with Abang Johari for a better Sarawak because they had full confidence in his capabilities.

“We wil l ful ly support his policies as and when they are drawn up as long as they are in line with Sarawak’s interests, which must be first and foremost,” he emphasised.

At the press conference after the swearing-in ceremony, Abang Johari said the state government would still pursue the request for 20 per cent oil royalty for Sarawak.

He also said the state government would continue to pursue the Native Customary Rights ( NCR) land issues following the Federal Court’s ruling last December that ‘pemakai menoa’ (territorial domain) and ‘ pulau galau’ (communal forest reserve) had no force of law in Sarawak.