Liew and two others sworn in as Sabah ministers

From right: Phoong, Liew and James Ratib being sworn in as Sabah state ministers on Wednesday.

KOTA KINABALU: Two Pakatan Harapan leaders and two Barisan Nasional dissidents from Umno have been brought into Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's new Cabinet on Wednesday (Jan 11) as he moves to end a five-day political crisis following Barisan’s withdrawal of support for his government.

He named Tanjung Keramat assemblyman Datuk Shahelmey Yahya as Deputy Chief Minister III (DCM III) and Works Minister, replacing Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin who led the pullout on Jan 5.

Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who was DCM II, is now DCM I, replacing Bung Moktar.

Another Barisan dissident, Datuk James Ratib (Sugut), was named the Community Development and People’s Wellbeing minister, replacing Shahelmey.

Sabah Pakatan chief Datuk Christina Liew (Api-Api) has been reappointed state Tourism, Culture and Environment minister, a portfolio she held during the Warisan government in 2018.

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Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe (Luyang) was appointed Industrial Development Minister.

The changes also saw Hajiji handing over the state Finance portfolio to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) secretary-general Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, while Masidi’s previous Local Government and Housing ministry was taken over by Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, who is DCM II.

Phoong has taken over Joachim’s previous portfolio.

Liew, Phoong and James were sworn in at Istana Negeri at 10.10am.

They took the oath of office before Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin at Istana Seri Kinabalu.

In a statement, Hajiji said the Cabinet reshuffle was to build a strong and inclusive team and that it was necessary to consolidate the present state government.

“It is important for the state government under my leadership to function as a cohesive team who share the same aspirations built on mutual trust and respect.

“To do that we need a strong team. Mindful of the need to form an inclusive administration, I have included assemblymen from Pakatan Harapan in the Cabinet, in addition to representatives from Barisan-Umno and GRS,” he said.

Hajiji said the state government was determined to have like-minded leaders who appreciated the need to ensure that efforts to develop the state are smooth and uninterrupted as expected by the people.

He said political stability was crucial to achieve this while elected representatives must push development momentum and fulfil election pledges to the people.

“With a strong team, we can ensure the state’s investment dynamics are maintained, increasing investors’ confidence and attracting more to Sabah,” he added.