DPM posts from Sabah, Sarawak should be included in Sabah BN’s manifesto - Zahid

PAPAR - Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi proposed that the positions of Deputy Prime Minister from Sabah and Sarawak be placed in the Sabah BN manifesto.

He said the proposal was laid out so that the Sabah BN manifesto could propose to the Prime Minister if the party was dominant in forming the government in Putrajaya in the 15th General Election (GE15).

"There is a Deputy Prime Minister post coming from Sabah, likewise for Sarawak maybe they will also ask for the Deputy Prime Minister post from Sarawak and another from the Peninsular.

"This is a new approach proposed by BN so that Sabah BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in Sarawak, BN in Peninsular Malaysia can include it in the manifesto," he said in a press conference after attending the BN Blue Wave Zone 3 event in Kimanis on Sunday.

He was also confident that his proposal would be accepted by caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob because the position in question did not exist in the caretaker government he leads and it was not wrong in the Constitution.

"I am confident that the Prime Minister will accept this proposal because the position of Deputy Prime Minister is not in the Constitution, that is why there is no Deputy Prime Minister position now.

"Currently there are are four positions of Senior Minister, so it is not impossible to have three Deputy Prime Minister positions.

“If BN won dominantly, then the positions would be held by any leaders from Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsular to occupy the second most important position in the country," he said.

When asked if the proposal was in line with Sabah and Sarawak's status as provinces, Zahid who is also the Umno President responded that was his spirit, but once again, insisted that BN must win with dominance.

Before that, in his speech, he also pointed out an example where a neighbouring country has many Deputy Prime Ministers.

"Neighbouring countries have six Deputy Prime Minister positions. Look at the faces of Sabah leaders, who will be the next Deputy Prime Minister.

"If you want that, make sure BN-Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) wins dominantly.

“Why does the Deputy Prime Minister need to come from Sabah? Because the Deputy Prime Minister will fight for the fate of the Sabahan people by asking the Federation for plenty of allocations to be transferred to the state of Sabah," he said.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri when asked by reporters about the proposal, he insisted that the manifesto should be implemented.

"BN had never lied in terms of manifesto, so since this is a BN manifesto, we must implement what is promised in the manifesto. The Deputy Prime Minister will be granted to Sabah and Sarawak," he said.