New state Cabinet line-up a Sabah decision but PM happy with it, says Kitingan

KOTA KINABALU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has given the thumbs up to the new Sabah Cabinet line-up, says Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.

“Yes, he already called the Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor) last night,” said the Deputy Chief Minister when asked if the Premier was happy with the new state Cabinet.

He said this briefly to the media outside Istana Seri Kinabalu, where he and other state leaders attended the swearing-in of new ministers in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led government on Wednesday (Jan 11).

ALSO READ: Liew and two others sworn in as Sabah ministers

Kitingan, who is also Sabah STAR president, said the move to appoint the new Cabinet, which did not include Sabah Barisan Nasional, Parti Warisan and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), was a decision by the state itself.

Anwar had proposed that Hajiji form a Sabah unity government to include all the parties in the state.

Kitingan said he was also happy with the new line-up.

“Yes, it’s more complete. At this moment, this set-up is very good,” he said.

Among the new faces in the line-up were Sabah Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Christina Liew (PKR) and Phoong Jin Zhe (DAP).

ALSO READ: The two ministers in Hajiji’s Cabinet don't represent Sabah Umno, says Bung

Liew was appointed state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, a portfolio she held during the Warisan-led administration from 2018 to 2020, while Phoong was made Industrial Development Minister.

Datuk Shahelmey Yahya was appointed Deputy Chief Minister III and state Works Minister, replacing Sabah Barisan chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.

Datuk James Ratib was named Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister, taking over from Shahelmey.

Both Shahelmey and James were among the five Sabah Umno dissidents who broke ranks with Sabah Barisan’s move to pull its support from the Hajiji-led GRS government.