THE proposed amendment to the Sarawak State Constitution is crucial to prevent ministerial overload and ensure the government can effectively manage its rapidly expanding responsibilities.
Pelagus assemblyman Wilson Nyabong Ijang stressed that Sarawak’s governance landscape has grown far beyond traditional development duties, with new priorities now centred on the digital economy, green energy, high-value industries, MA63-related autonomy and global sustainability commitments.
“These responsibilities have expanded exponentially. Many ministers are currently holding two or more vastly different portfolios. This is unsustainable and weakens policy focus, slows implementation and dilute accountability,” he said when debating in support of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2025 today (November 24).
With the August House now enlarged to 99 constituencies, Nyabong reminded that Cabinet members will face an even heavier load as more issues and policy demands are channelled their way.
“A ten-member Cabinet is no longer adequate to handle this evolving complexity,” he added, asserting that the amendment serves to match workload with capacity.
Nyabong said the Cabinet expansion was not about adding titles or cosmetic restructuring, but about strengthening delivery mechanisms and future-proofing the government’s ability to meet Sarawak’s development goals, particularly under the Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
He pointed out that the amendment is constitutionally sound, falling under the State’s authority as provided in Item 7, State List (List II) of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which empowers the Dewan to determine the structure and composition of the State Cabinet.
Nyabong described the Bill as a logical continuation of the recent move to increase the number of elected representatives, saying the Executive must evolve in tandem with the Legislature.
“We cannot allow our governance infrastructure to grow on one end while remaining stagnant on the other,” he said.
