Former Sabah deputy CM Abdul Ghapur Salleh passes away

BERNAMA file photo

KOTA KINABALU: Outspoken veteran Sabah politician Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh passed away at the Gleneagles Hospital here on Tuesday (July 4). He was 80.

Abdul Ghapur, who had been ill for some time, is to be buried at the Likas Muslim cemetery here, according to family members.

The former deputy chief minister, who first won the state seat of Merotai in 1981 under the then ruling Berjaya government, has been seen as a voice for Sabah in Parliament when he held the Kalabakan seat from 2004 to 2018.

Former aide Ronald Cooke described Abdul Ghapur as a decisive leader who also spoke his mind on issues, especially those affecting Sabah.

"As a leader, he was firm and quick in his decisions," Cooke said, adding that Abdul Ghapur was also Sabah Football Association president when Sabah won the FA Cup in 1995.

Born March 21, 1943, Abdul Ghapur served as executive secretary of Berjaya, led by Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh, before he was picked to contest the Merotai state seat in 1981.

He was among the six Berjaya assemblymen who won in the 1985 state election when Berjaya fell to Parti Bersatu Sabah.

He then made way for an Usno candidate in the snap 1986 state election.

He remained active in the political background, making a comeback with Umno spreading its wings to Sabah in 1991. He regained the Merotai seat in the 1994 state election and was made a state minister in the Barisan Nasional government.

Abdul Ghapur, who served as state minister in various portfolios between 1994 and 2003, also held the post of deputy chief minister from 1995 to 1997 in the Barisan government.

He was also among those high on the list as a possible chief minister replacing Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat, whose term ended in 2003. However, Tan Sri Musa Aman was picked to take over the state government.

In the 2004 general election, he was picked to contest the newly-created Kalabakan seat which he held until 2018.

Abdul Ghapur was offered a Federal deputy minister's post in 2008 by then prime minister Tun Abdullah Badawi but turned it down.

He remained vocal in pushing for Sabah's development needs in Parliament.

Social activist Mohd Zaki Harry Susanto said his passing was a loss to the state and the country.

“Abdul Ghapur helped many people; he did a good job and was dynamic in his work, particularly in the Kalabakan constituency,” he said.