Wilfred Yap
KUCHING (May 8): Wilfred Yap (GPS – Kota Sentosa) has proposed that the ‘Sarawak State Legislative Assembly’ (DUN) be renamed as ‘Parliament of Sarawak’.
He said this will correctly reflect the status of Sarawak as different from the other states in Malaysia and as one of the signatories of Malaysia Agreement 1963.
He explained the nomenclature is already being used in Australia for the legislative body of the six states and two territories, whereby New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia have Premiers as their Head of government and their legislative bodies are named ‘Parliament’.
“As practiced in other commonwealth regions with similar setups with Malaysia, like Australia where the head of the Federation is styled as Prime Minister and heads of the regions constituting the federation are styled as premier.
“Australia is a federation of six states and two self-governing territories, namely the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia and Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory.
“The states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia have Premiers as their Head of government whereas Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory have Chief Ministers as their Head of government.
“The states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia names their legislative body “parliament” and Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory names their legislative body “Legislative Assembly”,” he said when debating the motion of thanks for the Yang di-Pertuan Negeri’s opening address.
On another matter, Yap said the Sarawak government must work hard to regain its autonomy in education and health.
On education autonomy, he said this will allow Sarawak to shape its own education policies to cater to the needs of progress and development.
“With autonomy, Sarawak can focus on how to elevate standards. If we do not revamp our education system to keep in pace with technological advancement, our children will be left behind in a world that forges ahead while we are still stuck with our substandard education system.
“With our own autonomy in education, Sarawak will be able to integrate our education and our human capital requirements. A key concern and challenge for Sarawak is to bridge the gap between what industries want and the skills our graduates possess.
“Achieving this would be an incentive to offer even higher wages, driving economic growth. By narrowing the skills gap, not only will the job market be more competitive but the brain drain will also be mitigated with well paying job prospects,” he said, adding there must be a continuation of commitment from the Sarawak government to nurture talent and skills and cultivate an environment that fosters innovation.
On health autonomy, he said healthcare must become a part of Sarawak’s long term vision and another catalyst of growth and must receive adequate support and funding from the Sarawak government.
He pointed out the Sarawak government must focus on encouraging areas of public private collaboration and attracting investment in key manufacturing of medicinal products through research and development in Sarawak.
“The Sarawak government must take steps to incentivize private investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology.
“The Sarawak government must set goals to foster a homegrown pharmaceutical industry through collaborative partnerships of foreign and local pharmaceutical companies in medical biotechnology where local companies can gain through the passing of manufacturing expertise and operational knowledge onto local startups.
The Sarawak government should set up a healthcare industrial hub to serve as a niche destination to attract foreign for medical research, development and manufacturing. The Sarawak government must make every effort to grab the opportunities of the health industry as another engine of growth for our economy,” he said.