PRS hopes new Chief Minister includes assemblymen from party in cabinet
KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak ( PRS) youth chief Snowdan Lawan hopes that the newly appointed Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg will include more elected representatives from the party in his new cabinet lineup.
He assured that the PRS elected representatives will be able to work closely with the Chief Minister to pursue the government’s agenda especially to bring the rural communities to greater height.
PRS is the second biggest component in the Sarawak Barisan Nasional, having won all 11 seats it contested in last year’s state election.
Following the election, PRS president and Baleh assemblyman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing was appointed as one of the three Deputy Chief Ministers and also assumed the post of Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation .
Three other assemblymen from PRS - Kakus assemblyman Datuk John Sikie Tayai, Belaga assemblyman Liwan Lagang and Batang Ai assemblyman Malcolm Mussen Lamoh were appointed as assistant ministers.
Following the appointment of Abang Johari as the new chief minister, there have been talks that the cabinet will be reshuffled and new faces appointed.
Abang Johari was sworn in as the sixth chief minister following the sudden death of Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem last Wednesday.
The new chief minister is expected to announce the new cabinet after the seven- day mourning period for the late Adenan.
Snowdan, who is also Balai Ringin assemblyman, strongly believed Abang Johari would continue the legacy set by Adenan, who had led Sarawak BN to a landslide victory in last year’s state election by winning 72 of the total 82 seats.
“I would like to congratulate YAB Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, on his appointment as sixth Chief Minister of Sarawak.
“I was not surprised, because of his known calibre and experience. I strongly believe that our new Chief Minister will continue the legacy set by the late Tok Nan and perhaps to further improve it.”
He also said the sudden demise of Adenan had shocked the entire state, and he described the late chief minister as an exceptional leader who had always put the ‘ rakyat’ ( people) as his top priority especially towards the youth and rural development.
“The late CM also wanted Sarawak to be on par with other states in the country, and he saw it was crucial to nurture the youths as future leaders. This was testified in the last state election where we saw several youth leaders being selected as candidates for Barisan Nasional.”
He believed that Abang Johari would continue this noble effort and come out with a comprehensive Youth Development Blueprint to help the state’s youths to be more aggressive, proactive and innovative in their role as future leaders.
Snowdan also pointed out that Koperasi Inovatif Belia Sarawak ( KOBIS) was a good example of a platform that could be utilised to develop the youths’ potential towards excellence on entrepreneurship, careers, skills and innovation.
The extension of such agenda to rural areas, he added, could be materialised once the rural basic amenities were improved.
“The late Adenan had this specific vision. He knew that the socio- economic gap between the rural and the urban needed to be improved. This was manifested in the Rural Transformation Programme ( RTP), Pan Borneo Highway and rural school improvement projects laid down by the late CM.
“We need proper roads to commute. With the implementation of more rural roads, it could become a catalyst to enhance business opportunity and other physical development for the rural communities,” he stressed.