In order to safeguard national interests, Abdul Rahman declared that he denounced the slogan "Sarawak for Sarawakians" and replaced it with "Malaysia for Malaysians" a few weeks after he became the chief minister. Rahman argued that regional politics is not only divisive but could also harm the national solidarity. He also said that Sarawak should accept policies from the federal government because "Sarawak received a lot of money from the federal government. Without their assistance, we could never hope to progress so quickly." Rahman also introduced a motion in the Council Negri to make Bahasa Melayu along with English language as Sarawak's official languages. The motion was passed unanimously on 26 March 1974. This motion prompted fierce criticism from Stephen Kalong Ningkan.