Cabinet of Sarawak

Cabinet of Sarawak
Kabinet Sarawak
Coat of arms of Sarawak
Overview
Established	16 September 1963 (1963-09-16)
State	Sarawak
Leader	Premier
Appointed by	Governor on the advice of the Premier
Responsible to	Legislative Assembly

The cabinet of Sarawak (Malay: Kabinet Sarawak) serves as the primary decision-making body within the executive branch of the Government of Sarawak. Its composition mirrors that of the federal level, albeit on a smaller scale. At its core is the Premier, appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) based on their ability to secure majority support in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly. The Cabinet comprises ministers drawn from the legislative body, appointed by the Premier's recommendation.

Much like at the federal level, each Cabinet minister heads a specific ministry. However, due to variations in federal and state jurisdictions, certain portfolios may differ between the two levels of government.

History

Cabinet of Sarawak today is founded at 22.7.1963 the day when Sarawak gain independence from British Empire.

Prior to the Cabinet of Sarawak, it is the Supreme Council, during the reign of Second Rajah of Sarawak, Rajah Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, His Majesty has appointed chief of each race and chief of each divisions in Sarawak to the Supreme Council, Rajah is the Head of the Supreme Council with Englishman mainly Rajah relatives, friends and family members serving as secretary and officer within the Supreme Council.

Cabinet appointments

The state constitution mandates a structured process for the appointment of members to the Cabinet. The Governor appoints the Premier, who must be a member of the State Legislative Assembly and is likely to gain the trust of the majority of its members. Subsequently, the Premier advises the Governor on the appointment of other Cabinet members, with the Governor appointing no more than ten and no fewer than four members from among the sitting members of the State Legislative Assembly. ^[1] The constitution also includes provisions for appointments during the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly and for Cabinet members who cease to be members of the State Legislative Assembly.

Before assuming the functions of their office, a member of the Cabinet is required to take and subscribe to an oath in the presence of the Governor.

Tenure

The state constitution also defines the tenure of office for members of the Cabinet through several provisions. Firstly, it stipulates that if the Premier, who leads the Cabinet, loses the confidence of a majority of the members of the State Legislative Assembly, they are required to tender the resignation of the entire Cabinet. However, the Premier may alternatively request the Governor to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly, potentially leading to new elections.

Secondly, the constitution allows members of the Cabinet to resign from their positions at any time by submitting a written resignation to the Governor. If a member of the Cabinet, excluding the Premier, has their appointment revoked by the Governor upon the advice of the Premier, they are also required to vacate their office.

Thirdly, except for the Premier, who is contingent upon the confidence of the State Legislative Assembly, members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the Governor. This means that their tenure in office is at the discretion of the Governor, and they may continue to hold office unless they voluntarily resign or have their appointment revoked.

Deputy ministers

The constitution also provides for the appointment of Deputy Ministers by the Governor upon the advice of the Premier from among the members of the State Legislative Assembly. Deputy Ministers do not hold Cabinet membership. There are specific provisions for appointments during the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly and for the continuation of office in case of ceasing membership in the Assembly. The primary role of Deputy Ministers is to assist the Premier and Ministers in their duties, with powers equivalent to Ministers. Certain provisions applicable to Cabinet members also extend to Deputy Ministers for consistency in governance.

This post was known as Assistant Minister before an amendment to the constitution regarding the matter was successfully passed on 15 February 2022, renaming the post to "Deputy Minister". ^[2] The constitutional amendment was gazetted and came into effect on 1 March 2022.

Responsibilities and restrictions of cabinet members

The state constitution delineates the assignment of responsibilities to members of the Cabinet and imposes restrictions on their engagement in trade, business, or profession. Firstly, the Governor, upon the advice of the Premier, holds the authority to allocate specific governmental tasks to Cabinet members, encompassing the management of state affairs and the administration of government departments. Under this provision, any Cabinet member entrusted with such responsibilities is designated with the title of "Minister".

In addition to the assignment of duties, the Constitution imposes limitations on the commercial activities of Cabinet members. Specifically, members of the Cabinet are prohibited from participating in any trade, business, or profession that is directly connected with the subject or department of government for which they are responsible. Furthermore, they are barred from involvement in Cabinet decisions pertaining to their trade, business, or profession, or decisions that could potentially impact their financial interests in these pursuits, for as long as they continue to engage in them.

Governor to act on advice

Article 10 of the Constitution outlines the governance structure regarding the role and powers of the Governor in relation to the Cabinet and the exercise of their functions. It delineates specific scenarios where the Governor is mandated to act on advice from the Premier or a member of the Cabinet, and those where they retain discretionary powers.

In accordance with the constitutional framework, the Governor is primarily required to act on the advice of the Premier or a member of the Cabinet in the execution of their functions.

However, the provision also acknowledges instances where the Governor exercises discretion. Notably, the Governor retains the authority to independently appoint a Premier and to withhold consent for the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly.

Furthermore, the State Legislative Assembly is granted the authority to enact laws that regulate the Governor's exercise of functions, including provisions for consultation or recommendations from entities other than the Cabinet.

Present composition

Ministers

GPS (11)
PBB (8)	SUPP (2)	PRS (1)	PDP (0)

Portfolio	Officeholder	Party		Constituency	Term start	Term end
Premier	Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr. Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg		PBB	Gedong	18 December 2021	Incumbent
Deputy Premiers	Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas		PBB	Bukit Saban	4 January 2022
	Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah bin Ali Hasan		PBB	Bukit Sari
	Prof. Datuk Amar Dr. Sim Kui Hian		SUPP	Batu Kawah
Minister in the Premier's Department	Dato Sri John Sikie Tayai		PRS	Kakus
Minister for Finance and New Economy	Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr. Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg		PBB	Gedong
	Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas (as Second Minister)		PBB	Bukit Saban
Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development	Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr. Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg		PBB	Gedong
	Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah bin Ali Hasan (as Second Minister)		PBB	Bukit Sari
Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability	Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr. Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg		PBB	Gedong
Minister for Infrastructure and Port Development	Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas		PBB	Bukit Saban
Minister for International Trade and Investment	Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah bin Ali Hasan		PBB	Bukit Sari
Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government	Prof. Datuk Amar Dr. Sim Kui Hian		SUPP	Batu Kawah
Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development	Dato Sri Hajah Fatimah Abdullah		PBB	Dalat
Minister for Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development	Dato Sri Dr. Stephen Rundi Utom		PBB	Kemena
Minister for Transport	Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin		SUPP	Senadin
Minister for Utility and Telecommunication	Dato Sri Haji Julaihi bin Haji Narawi		PBB	Sebuyau
Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts	Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah		PBB	Asajaya
Minister for Youth, Sport and Entrepreneur Development
Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development	Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn		PBB	Tarat

Deputy Ministers

GPS (27)
PBB (18)	SUPP (3)	PRS (4)	PDP (2)

Portfolio	Officeholder	Party		Constituency	Term start	Term end
Deputy Minister in the Premier's Department	Datuk Hajjah Sharifah Hasidah binti Sayeed Aman Ghazali (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations)		PBB	Samariang	4 January 2022	Incumbent
	Datuk Gerawat Gala (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring)		PBB	Mulu
	Datuk Abdullah bin Haji Saidol (Corporate Affairs and UKAS)		PBB	Semop
	Dato Murshid Diraja Dr. Juanda Jaya (Integrity and Ombudsman)		PBB	Jemoreng
	Datuk Jefferson Jamit anak Unyat (Native Law and Customs)		PBB	Bukit Goram
	Datuk Dr. Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Junaidi (DBKU, Islamic Affairs & Project Coordinator for Regional Development Agency)		PBB	Pantai Damai	17 March 2025
Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development	Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh		PBB	Kuala Rajang	4 January 2022
Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability	Datuk Dr. Haji Hazland Abang Hipni		PBB	Demak Laut
Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Port Development	Datuk Ir. Aidel bin Lariwoo (Infrastructure Development)		PBB	Sadong Jaya
	Dato Majang anak Renggi (Port Development)		PRS	Samalaju
Deputy Minister for International Trade and Investment	Datuk Dr. Malcom Mussen anak Lamoh		PRS	Batang Ai
Deputy Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government	Datu Dr. Penguang anak Manggil (Public Health and Housing)		PDP	Marudi
	Datuk Michael Tiang Ming Tee (Local Government)		SUPP	Pelawan
Deputy Minister for Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development	Datuk Dr. Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ismail (Modernisation of Agriculture)	`	PBB	Bukit Kota
	Datuk Maclaine @ Martin Ben (Regional Development)		PBB	Kedup
Deputy Minister for Transport	Datuk Dr. Jerip anak Susil		PBB	Mambong
	Dato Henry Harry anak Jinep		PDP	Tasik Biru
Deputy Minister for Utility and Telecommunication	Datuk Dr. Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Junaidi (Utility)		PBB	Pantai Damai		17 March 2025
	Datuk Ibrahim Baki (Utility)		PBB	Satok	17 March 2025	Incumbent
	Datuk Liwan Lagang (Telecommunication)		PRS	Belaga	4 January 2022
Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts	Dato Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew (Tourism)		SUPP	Piasau
	Datuk Snowdan anak Lawan (Creative Industry and Performing Arts)		PRS	Balai Ringin
Deputy Minister for Youth, Sport and Entrepreneur Development	Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu (Youth and Sport Development)		PBB	Layar
	Datuk Dr. Ripin bin Lamat (Entrepreneur Development)		PBB	Lambir
Deputy Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development	Datuk Hajah Rosey Haji Yunus (Women and Early Childhood Development)		PBB	Bekenu
	Datuk Ricky @ Mohd Razi bin Sitam (Community Wellbeing Development)		PBB	Saribas
Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development	Datuk Dr. Haji Annuar bin Rapaee (Education and Innovation)		PBB	Nangka
	Datuk Francis Harden anak Hollis (Talent Development)		SUPP	Simanggang

List of cabinets

For details about the current cabinet, see Second Abang Johari cabinet.

No.	Cabinet	Term began	Term ended	Cabinet composition		Legislative term (election)
						1st
						2nd
						3rd
						4th
						5th
						6th
	Stephen I	1963	1966		Alliance (SNAP–SCA–BARJASA–PESAKA)	7th
	Tawi Sli I	1966	1966		Alliance (PESAKA–BARJASA–SCA)
	Stephen II	1966	1966		SNAP (minority)
	Tawi Sli II	1966	1970		Alliance (PESAKA–BARJASA–SCA)
	Rahman I	1970	1974		Alliance (BUMIPUTERA–SCA) (until 1973)	8th (1969–70)
					BN (PBB–SUPP) (from 1973)
	Rahman II	1974	1979		BN (PBB–SUPP)	9th (1974)
	Rahman III	1979	1981		BN (PBB–SUPP)	10th (1979)
	Taib I	1981	1983		BN (PBB–SUPP)
	Taib II	1983	1987		BN (PBB–SUPP)	11th (1983)
	Taib III	1987	1991		BN (PBB–SUPP–SNP)	12th (1987)
	Taib IV	1991	1996		BN (PBB–SUPP–SNP)	13th (1991)
	Taib V	1996	2001		BN (PBB–SUPP–PBDS–SNP)	14th (1996)
	Taib VI	2001	2006		BN (PBB–SUPP–PBDS–SNP)	15th (2001)
	Taib VII	2006	2011		BN (PBB–SUPP–PRS–SPDP)	16th (2006)
	Taib VIII	2011	2014		BN (PBB–PRS–SUPP–SPDP)	17th (2011)
	Adenan I	2014	2016		BN (PBB–PRS–SUPP–SPDP)
	Adenan II	8 May 2016	11 January 2017		BN (PBB–PRS–SUPP–PDP) – UPP	18th (2016)
	Abang Johari I	11 January 2017	3 January 2022		BN (PBB–PRS–SUPP–PDP) – UPP (2017–2018)
					GPS (PBB–PRS–SUPP–PDP) – PSB (2018–2019)
					GPS (PBB– PRS– SUPP– PDP) (2019–2021)
	Abang Johari II	4 January 2022	Incumbent		GPS (PBB– PRS– SUPP– PDP)	19th (2021)

See also

• Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak
• Premier of Sarawak
• Sarawak State Legislative Assembly

References

1. Ahmad, Shafik (7 January 2022). "Kabinet Sarawak: Abang Jo pegang lebih jawatan bukan pemusatan kuasa - Penganalisis" (in Malay). Astro Awani . Retrieved 4 March 2024.
2. Wen, Lok Jian (15 February 2022). "Sarawak vote to call its leader 'premier' could be first step to greater autonomy". The Straits Times . Retrieved 4 March 2024.

External links

• Sarawak State Government