The premier of Sarawak () is the

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

of the

Malaysian state Malaysia is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories, which form the primary administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territories are part of Peninsular Malaysia, while two states and one territory ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

. The premier leads the

Government of Sarawak The Sarawak Government is an authority governing Sarawak, one of the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Borneo states of Malaysia, and is based in Kuching, the state capital. The state government adheres to and is created by both the C ...

, the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of the state government, and is appointed by the

Yang di-Pertua Negeri In Malaysia, the Governor, officially Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Jawi script, Jawi: , ) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in States and federal territories of Malaysia, states without a ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and S ...

, the ceremonial governor of Sarawak. The premier is typically the leader of the

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

that commands a

majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...

in the

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after th ...

. This office was formerly known as the chief minister of Sarawak, until a constitutional amendment officially changed the title to premier. The amendment was passed on 15 February 2022. It was gazetted and came into effect on 1 March 2022.

Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Abang Openg (born 4 August 1950), also known as Abang Johari or Abang Jo, is a Malaysian politician who has served as the sixth and current Premier of Sarawak since 2017. A member of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersat ...

served as the sixth and last chief minister of Sarawak, having assumed office on 13 January 2017. He became the first and current premier of Sarawak upon the amendment's implementation on 1 March 2022.

History

The post of Premier of Sarawak was created as Chief Minister of Sarawak on 22 July 1963 when

was given

self-government Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

, with

Stephen Kalong Ningkan Stephen Kalong Ningkan (20 August 1920 – 31 March 1997) was a Malaysian politician who served as the first Chief Minister of Sarawak from 1963 to 1966. Early life and education Stephen Kalong Ningkan was born on 20 August 1920 in Betong, ...

being the first inaugural to lead the office. A proposal to change the title of Chief Minister to Premier was made in February 2022, as an aspect of Sarawak's efforts to reclaim its rights under the 1963

Malaysia Agreement The Malaysia Agreement,; or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was a legal document which agreed to combine Nor ...

(MA63). In addition, the office was proposed to be renamed so that Sarawak would not be compared to other states like

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

and

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

, which also have a chief minister to lead their state government. Along with

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

, and

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

, Sarawak was one of the signatories of MA63 during the

formation of Malaysia The Malaysia Agreement,; or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was a legal document which agreed to combine Nort ...

. On 15 February, the position of Chief Minister was changed to Premier following a successful amendment to the Sarawak state constitution. The constitutional amendment was gazetted and came into effect on 1 March.

, who had previously served as the sixth Chief Minister before the post was rebranded, became the first Premier of Sarawak.

Appointment

According to the Article 3(6)(a) of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak, the governor shall first appoint the premier to preside over the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and requires such premier to be a

member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

who, in the former's judgment, is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Council Negri. The premier must not be a

ian by naturalisation or registration. The Governor will appoint not more than ten nor less than four Ministers on the premier's advice. The governor will also appoint deputy ministers under Article 7A of the state constitution. The Premier and the Cabinet Ministers must take and subscribe in the presence of Governor the oath of office and allegiance as well as the oath of secrecy before they can exercise the functions of office. In line with the Westminster system's principles of "

collective responsibility Collective responsibility or collective guilt is the responsibility of organizations, groups and societies. Collective responsibility in the form of collective punishment is often used as a disciplinary measure in closed institutions, e.g., b ...

" codified in the State Constitution, the Cabinet is collectively responsible to the Council Negri. The members of the Cabinet are prohibited from holding any office of profit and engage in any trade, business or profession that will cause

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

. Unlike the Premier, State Ministers and Deputy Ministers hold office at the pleasure of Governor Articles 7(3) and 7A(3), Sarawak State Constitution. If a Premier has such a low amount of vote supports, completely loses his status as a Member of the State Legislative Assembly (ADUN), loses his deposit during the state election, or any implementation or presentation that is found not to be fully supported by any Member of the State Legislative Assembly (ADUN), then the Premier of Sarawak has the right to terminate from his service legally, with the condition that he must announce the appointment of the Acting Premier as a replacement for a temporary period (for 80 days only), until he gets the consent from the Governor of Sarawak to appoint a new Premier of Sarawak. At the same time, a special committee on the appointment of the new Premier of Sarawak will be established. Following a resignation in other circumstances, defeat in a general election or state election, illness, or the death of a current Premier, the Governor of Sarawak has the right to appoint the person as the new Premier of Sarawak, as the person is voted by the new governing party, with the majority vote during state election.

Powers

The Premier is the Head of Government in the State of Sarawak. Both the Federal Constitution and State Constitution as well as other legislations accord various authorities upon the office of the Premier. Specific provisions of the State Constitution that expresses the authority of the Premier include:- * Art. 1(1): Consulting with the Yang Di-Pertua Agong on the appointment of Governor; * Art. 1(3): Consulting with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong on the appointment of the Acting Governor; * Art. 1(5): Advising Governor, with the consent of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, appointing a person taking the Governor place or representing the Governor at the Conference of Rulers; * Art. 6(3)(b): Advising Governor the appointment of Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers; * Art. 7(1): Request for the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly; * Art. 7(2): Advising the Governor on the revocation of the appointment of a Cabinet Minister; * Art. 11: Advising Governor on the appointment of the State Secretary, State Attorney General, and State Financial Secretary; * Art. 15(1)(a) & (b): Advising the Governor on the appointment of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly; and * Art. 35(1): Advising Governor on the appointment of the Chairman, Deputy chairman, and members of the State Public Service Commission. The power of the premier is subject to a number of limitations. Premiers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the Legislative Assembly, must advise a state election or resign the office or be dismissed by Governor. The defeat of a

supply bill In the Westminster system (and, colloquially, in the United States), a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending (also known as appropriation of money), as opposed to changes in public law. Conv ...

(one that concerns the spending of money) or unable to pass important policy-related legislation is seen to require the resignation of the government or dissolution of Legislative Assembly, much like a non-confidence vote, since a government that cannot spend money is hamstrung, also called

loss of supply Loss of supply occurs where a government in a parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer funds, by whichever house or houses of parliament or head of state is cons ...

. The premier's party will normally have a majority in the Legislative Assembly and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Sarawakian politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the Legislative Assembly is mostly a formality.

Acting Premier of Sarawak

The appointment of an acting Premier (''Pemangku Premier Sarawak'') will only be implemented if a Premier is confirmed to be ill for a long period of time, or died while serving in the government administration. To appoint an acting Premier, he must have extensive experience in politics, economics, legal affairs, social affairs & people's unity, education, science & technology, sports, and religious affairs. There is no obstacle for any local leaders from various races, to hold the position as acting Premier of Sarawak. The appointment period of the acting Premier will only be given for 80 days only, until the consent of the

Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak The Governor of Sarawak, officially Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak (''Malay: Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak'') is the ceremonial head of state of Sarawak, Malaysia. The is styled (). The official residence of the governor is The Astana, loc ...

to fully implement the appointment of the new Premier of Sarawak, on the condition that through the selection method of the new Sarawak government cabinet lineup, namely through government cabinet elections, or as directly using state government elections.

List

Chief Ministers of Sarawak (1963–2022)

Colour key (for political coalitions):

Premiers of Sarawak (2022–present)

Colour key (for political coalitions):

Life after office

A few former chief ministers had important careers after leaving office. Usually, they are appointed to become the

(Governor). There were two former chief ministers who were appointed as Governor shortly after they left office:

Abdul Rahman Ya'kub Abdul Rahman bin Ya'kub (; 3 January 1928 – 9 January 2015) was a Malaysian politician of Melanau descent from Mukah. He was the third Chief Minister of Sarawak and the fourth Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak (Governor of Sarawak). He is als ...

and

Abdul Taib Mahmud Abdul Taib bin Mahmud (; 21 May 1936 – 21 February 2024) was a Malaysian politician who served as the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak from 2014 to 2024 and the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak from 1981 to 2014. He is referred to a ...

. The most recent passing of the chief minister occurred with the death of

, who served from 1981 to 2014. He died on 21 February 2024, at the age of 87.

References

{{Menteri Besars and Chief Ministers *