PARTI Bersatu Sabah (PBS) will propose three deputy prime minister (DPM) posts for the country as the first agenda in the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MKMA63) first meeting after the general election (GE) is over, said it’s president Maximus Ongkili.

In welcoming the proposal by Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday, Ongkili who is also Minister in the Prime MInister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) described it as long overdue.

Ongkili stressed that PBS, as a member of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), fully endorsed the proposal, adding that any fulfillment to that effect will be consistent with the constitutional provision of giving Sabah and Sarawak equal status in Malaysia.

“It would represent the new Malaysia. It could be a major leap forward for the country, and I am confident it would be unanimously agreed by MKMA63,” he said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu today.

Yesterday, Zahid suggested that three deputy prime minister (DPM) posts be created to represent Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula if BN wins the upcoming general election.

He said Sabah BN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) could suggest to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for this suggestion to be included in the BN and GPS manifesto for the GE.

Ongkili said the subject matter pertaining to the appointment of deputy prime minister for Sabah and Sarawak has been discussed in MKMA63 following public request, particularly from Sabahans and Sarawakians, for the federal government to consider the proposal.

“In fact, the Equal Partner Working Committee is looking at the subject matter on the equal status of both Sabah and Sarawak in the Constitution,” he said. – Bernama, October 24, 2022.