SARAWAK says it will not surrender its autonomous rights on local government.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said there has been a request by the federal government for the state government to give up its autonomy in order to “streamline the administration of the local governments”.

Sarawak will neither go along with Pakatan Harapan government’s proposal for a local government election, Abang Johari said after witnessing the swearing in of 750 new councillors to its 24 district and municipal councils in Kuching this afternoon.

“(The administration and rights) over local government are our autonomous rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“It is the right of the state,” he said in reference to the Local Authorities Ordinance that gave Sarawak and Sabah that autonomy.

The chief minister did not disclose which federal minister suggested the takeover proposal but hinted that it was “someone new” who “thinks that local government is also a federal matter”.

It is believed that he was referring to federal Local Government and Housing Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, who paid the chief minister a courtesy call in June last year – just a month after the PH government took over power in Putrajaya.

Zuraida in her visit to Kuching also had a closed door meeting with state Local Government and Housing Minister Sim Kui Hian though nothing was disclosed of the meeting.

District and municipal councillors in Sarawak are appointed and they are normally grassroots leaders of component parties of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

Abang Johari also said starting this year the councillors will be paid a fixed allowance of RM300 a month on top of their meeting allowance, a decision that was met with rapturous applause.

He told also told them that they have a key role to play as frontline GPS soldiers in the run up to the state election expected in 2021.

“They want war, we give them war,” he said in reference to PH leaders’ call “to get ready for war” at their Harapan Sarawak Baru dinner gathering Sunday night.

He said they (the councillors) cannot expect the “generals” (leaders in the state government) to do all the fighting.

He warned them that if GPS were to lose the election, then there’s no stopping PH from amending the federal constitution and fulfill their aim to take over the local government.

“If they take over (Sarawak) they can change the constitution for a federal takeover.” – July 31, 2019.