SARAWAK Cabinet can be adjusted in the future if needed, said Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap Yau Sin.
Yap reassured that concerns that an enlarged Cabinet would be difficult to reduce later were merely speculative.
“The constitution provides flexibility and any future adjustment can be made by the government of the day if circumstances warrant it,” he said this when debating in support for the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2025 here today (November 24).
Yap also stressed that the current amendment addressed immediate governance needs, adding that Sarawak was undertaking some of its most comprehensive development initiatives, including renewable energy and hydrogen projects, major infrastructure upgrades, digitalisation efforts and tourism and creative industry growth.
“These initiatives require focused ministerial leadership,” he said.
Yap also highlighted that the size of the Cabinet was justified by Sarawak’s vast geographical area and dispersed rural communities, which made the administrative burden far greater than population numbers alone suggested.
He pointed out that it was no longer practical for the state to have ministers handling two or even three portfolios simultaneously.
Clarifying the roles within the government, he said ministers set policy direction and carried full accountability while deputy ministers supported implementation but did not hold independent decision-making powers or Cabinet membership.
He also addressed misconceptions about political secretaries and the civil service by pointing out that while they provided support and operational capacity, they could not replace ministerial leadership.
Yap concluded that expanding the Cabinet was about governance capacity, not political enlargement.
“If Sarawak aspires to be a premier region and a leading player in the region, then our administrative structure must keep pace with these aspirations,” he said, urging all members to support the Bill.
