Sarawak's State Government Set-Up

Sarawak is a component of the Federation of Malaysia.  Similar to its counterpart Sabah, Sarawak is regulated under the State Constitution and the Constitution of Federation.  The subjects under which the State and Federal Governments can respectively legislate are laid out as the Federal and State List under the Ninth Schedule of the Federation of Malaya Constitution. In addition, there is also a concurrent list of subjects which come under the purview of both the State and Federal Governments.

State Government Ministries

The State Government Ministries formulate the policies made and decided by the State Cabinet. The Ministries also see to it that Ministerial policies under their purview are implemented by the various implementing agencies. There are eleven Ministries in Sarawak. These are:

• Chief Minister Department
• Ministry of Planning and Resource Management
• Ministry of Finance and Public Utilities
• Ministry of Rural and Land Development
• Ministry of Environment and Public Health
• Ministry of Tourism
• Ministry of Housing
• Ministry of Industrial Development
• Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry
• Ministry of Social Development
• Ministry of infrastructure Development and Communications

Each Ministry is headed by a Minister who is also the political head of the Ministry. A Minister may have more than one portfolio or may be without one. A Permanent Secretary acts as the Administrative head of a Ministry.