Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor has replaced Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin as one of his three deputies.
Shahelmey Yahya (BN-Tanjung Keramat) was promoted today to deputy chief minister. He will also take over Bung’s Works Ministry portfolio.
Apart from Bung, Hajiji also dropped two others from his cabinet - Yakub Khan (BN-Karambunai) and Jafry Ariffin (BN-Sukau).
Three new Sabah cabinet members - Phoong Jin Zhe (Pakatan Harapan-Luyang), Christina Liew (Harapan-Api api) and James Ratib (BN-Sugut) - were sworn in today at Istana Seri Kinabalu.
In a statement after the swearing-in ceremony, Hajiji said the reshuffle was necessary to ensure that a "strong team" was in 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.
"The state government is determined to have like-minded leaders who appreciate the need to ensure efforts to develop the state run smoothly and uninterrupted as expected by the people.
"Political stability is crucial to achieve this," he added.
New state finance minister
The reshuffle saw Hajiji rearranging the order of his three deputies.
Parti Solidarity Tanah Airku (Star) president Jeffrey Kitingan (GRS-Tambunan) and Parti Bersatu Sabah deputy president Joachim Gunsalam, who were DCM II and DCM III respectively, have both moved up a rung on the cabinet ladder.
This meant that Hajiji had relegated BN to the third DCM spot now that Bung has been removed from his cabinet.
Hajiji also dropped the finance portfolio and gave it to Masidi Manjun (GRS-Karanaan), who was previously holding the local government and housing portfolio alongside the second minister of finance portfolio.
READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | What we know about the Sabah leadership row so far
This reshuffle came amid Bung's claim that 17 Sabah BN lawmakers had withdrawn support for Hajiji to continue serving as chief minister last Friday.
However, five BN lawmakers rebelled against Bung and pledged to continue supporting Hajiji.
The five included Shahelmy and James. Shahelmy was already a state cabinet minister, while James was an assistant cabinet member. - Mkini
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