{
  "id": 8808777,
  "title": "Awang Tengah calon potensi ganti Abang Jo sebagai premier Sarawak",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/awang-tengah-calon-potensi-ganti-abang-jo-sebagai-premier-sarawak",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-21T00:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/09/21/awang-tengah-calon-potensi-ganti-abang-jo-sebagai-premier-sarawak"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Politikal analyst Jayum Jawan believes Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, the Deputy Premier of Sarawak, has the potential to become the next premier of Sarawak, succeeding Abang Johari Openg. Johari recently suggested in a PBB (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) meeting that he may not continue as premier after the upcoming PRN (Pemilihan Rakyat Negara). He has been the premier since January 2017, replacing Adenan Satem who passed away during his tenure.\n\nJayum Jawan, a senior analyst from the Malaysian Academy of Sciences, stated that Awang Tengah is the top nominee from the dominant Bumiputera wing of the PBB. The party's tradition typically selects the former Bumiputera deputy president as the primary successor to the president position. \"If the party's tradition is to be followed, the leading candidate should be Awang Tengah,\" he told FMT. Another analyst, James Chin from the University of Tasmania, mentioned several names as potential replacements for Johari, but did not disclose them as the option may change in the next few years. Chin noted that the new premier should be a Muslim, not necessarily from the Sarawak or Melanau communities, but could belong to other ethnic groups. \"Additionally, the criteria require that anyone replacing Johari must have at least as strong a pro-Sarawak sentiment as Abang Johari, or even stronger. In other words, a strong pro-Sarawak sentiment is essential in Sarawak, and anyone lacking this attribute would not have a chance to reach the top,\" he said.\n\nThe shift in power is expected to follow Abang Johari, according to analysts Jayum Jawun and Awang Azman Awang Pawi from Universiti Malaya. They suggest that the succession will likely occur without an open competition, as seen in the recent PBB election, where the president, two deputy presidents, and two vice-presidents retained their positions without any open contest. \"This is part of the long-standing PBB political culture, loyal to the party institution, organizational discipline, discussion, and avoiding open leadership conflicts. This culture has developed over the Taib Mahmud era, continued under Adenan, and now under Abang Johari. Therefore, if the replacement process occurs, it would be more reasonable to see it as a consensus-building process rather than a competitive one,\" he added.\n\nNo Muslim Dayak politician is expected to become the next premier, according to Jayum Jawun and Chin, as it is highly unlikely for a Muslim Dayak or Malay-Melanau figure to hold the premier position. They believe their narrow viewpoint makes them unsuitable for leading the party, which is expected to represent Malays, Melanau, and Dayak people not only within the PBB but also outside of it, including the Sarawak Chinese community. \"History shows Dayak leadership historically plays a secondary role to the Malay and Melanau groups within the PBB. This is unlikely to change, and the best they can hope for is the deputy premier position,\" Jayum Jawun stated. However, Awang Azman believes the current political developments in Sarawak are not as straightforward as a Dayak or Malay-Melanau premier. He emphasized that the primary criteria for the successor include PBB and GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) acceptance, the ability to win a majority of state seats, experience in governance, maintaining Sarawak's autonomy and interests, and the ability to maintain social harmony among diverse ethnic groups. \"The successor to Abang Johari should not be viewed as an ethnic competition or an ethnic issue. If we follow the PBB hierarchy, Douglas Uggah Embas and Awang Tengah hold the deputy president position, followed by Fadillah Yusof and Stephen Rundi as vice-presidents. However, the final decision is largely dependent on the PBB consensus, internal GPS unity, majority support, and certainly, the vision and succession plan of Abang Johari,\" Awang Azman concluded.",
  "summary": "Penganalisis politik Jayum Jawan berkata ikut tradisi timbalan presiden sayap Bumiputera dalam PBB akan menjadi presiden dan seterusnya premier.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Awang Tengah seen as likely successor to Johari as Sarawak premier",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/awang-tengah-seen-as-likely-successor-to-johari-as-sarawak-premier",
        "published": "2026-09-21T00:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}