No 3-month celebration for governor’s birthday, says Sabah DCM

 

Sabah deputy chief minister Joachim Gunsalam said the seven events planned are a reduction from the 12 held last year, while the budget has also been slashed by 30%. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

The Sabah government has denied reports that the official birthday celebration of the state’s governor will span over three months, saying it will only involve seven official events held over a month.

Deputy chief minister Joachim Gunsalam said the state Cabinet simply decided that the official events for the celebration would be held in June, though the public holiday in conjunction with the governor’s birthday falls on March 30.

He said the seven events were a reduction from the 12 held last year, and the budget for the celebrations has also been slashed by 30%.

Joachim said the seven events planned were those that have been traditionally held for the governor’s official birthday in previous years.

“I hope that this clarification is clear and that the events planned would not be misconstrued,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday, The Star quoted Joachim as saying a series of events for the celebration will be held from March 30, the public holiday for the governor’s birthday, to June 21.

However, he said four of the seven events would be held on June 21 while the remaining will be held before that within the same month.

The perception of a three-month-long celebration for the Sabah governor’s birthday drew criticism from Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking, who expressed concern over the lavish use of public funds for the celebration. - FMT