KUCHING: Sarawak will consult with Attorney General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, to determine the most appropriate term to replace the word "state" for its legislative assembly, in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, said considering Malaysia's position as a member of the Commonwealth, the term used should also align with the legal practices of the organisation.
"We also want feedback from the public regarding the preferred terminology, so we will adjust it according to the laws, like how it is practised in Commonwealth countries.
"In Commonwealth countries they use terms like 'provincial legislature' and Canada, for example, refers to it as a 'provincial parliament'... We cannot use the term 'territory'; otherwise, we would be a federal territory," he said after a Hari Raya open house at the residence of state Minister of Women, Family, and Community Development, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, here on Sunday (May 5).
He said the state committee, represented by state Deputy Minister of Law, Malaysia Agreement 1963 and State-Federal Relations Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, would discuss the matter with Ahmad Terrirudin.
On Saturday (May 4), the Speaker of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, proposed that the Sarawak executive branch must decide on a more suitable term to replace the word 'state' in "Sarawak State Legislative Assembly".
He believed that in line with the Malaysia Agreement 1963, which recognises Sarawak as a territory and not one of the 13 states, the term should be dropped. – Bernama
