KUCHING: A bill to increase the number of Sarawak Cabinet members through an amendment to the State Constitution will be tabled at the State Legislative Assembly sitting next week.
State Legislative Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar said the move was necessary due to the state's rapidly expanding administrative responsibilities and the need for more focused portfolio management.
He said the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2025 would be tabled by State Tourism, Creative Industry, Performing Arts, Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah during the sitting, which would run from Nov 24 to Dec 3.
"The ever-expanding, stupendous tasks and responsibilities of the Cabinet inescapably require an increase in the number of ministers. Some ministers have two portfolios, some have three, and their winding-up speeches are very lengthy," he told a press conference after the pre-council meeting here on Saturday (Nov 22).
Mohamad Asfia added that enlarging the Cabinet was timely following the increase in the number of state assemblymen in the previous sitting.
"Following the last sitting, when the composition of the members of the assembly was increased from 82 to 99… it is high time to increase the number of Cabinet members," he said, adding that the expansion would not affect the positions of deputy ministers.
While acknowledging that there may be objections to enlarging the Cabinet, Mohamad Asfia stressed that Sarawak requires a stronger administrative structure to match its political and economic trajectory.
He said legal considerations must give way to political realities, noting that the state's growing ambitions demand enhanced governance capacity.
"There is rising expectation from the people. The target of 2030 (for) Sarawak to be the premier region in Malaysia, Sarawak to be the main player as an energy powerhouse, and so forth in Asean - all this adds to the necessity to increase and expand the State Cabinet.
"Our destination is to make Sarawak a premier region, a player in Asean, if not internationally. It is not just our destination; it is our destiny," he said.
Other bills to be tabled during the sitting include the Supply (2026) Bill, Supplementary Supply (2025) Bill, Building (Amendment) Bill, and the Sustainable Resources and Wastes Management Bill 2025, together with the Sarawak Budget 2026. – Bernama
