70 YBs take oath

Kota Kinabalu: Seventy of the 73 elected state assemblymen in Sabah were sworn in before the new State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Kadzim M. Yahya, Friday.

Four of the six nominated state assemblymen also took their oath at the ceremony held at the Sabah State Legislative Assembly building here.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, the Lamag assemblyman, was the first to take his oath, followed by the other two deputy chief ministers, Tambunan assemblyman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Kundasang assemblyman Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam.

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Warisan president and former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal also took his oath as the Senallang assemblyman.

The four appointed assemblymen sworn in are Sabah PAS secretary Dr Aliakbar Gulasan, Sabah Umno treasurer Suhaimi Nasir, former Tenom Member of Parliament Datuk Raime Unggi and Jaffari Waliam, who was also a nominated member in the previous government.

The three elected members who did not take their oath included Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor, the Sulaman assemblyman, who is undergoing a two-week self-quarantine after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 positive individual.

The other two members absent were Sulabayan assemblyman Datuk Jaujan Sambakong and Bugaya assemblyman Datin Manis Muka Mohd Darah.

The two nominated assemblymen who did not attend were SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Sabah Bersatu Srikandi vice-chief Datuk Amisah Yassin.

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“I have informed the state assembly office that I will take the oath another day. This is allowed under standing orders,” said Yong.

When asked whether it was due to health reasons, Yong said he was feeling well, and it was not because of the quarantine.

Speaker Datuk Kadzim said all absentees, except for Yong, were still on quarantine. “They are still on self quarantine.”

Yong earlier also did not attend ceremony to receive his letter of appointment from the Head of State Yang di Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin.

Yong’s absence has raised questions whether he was taking up the appointment as nominated assemblyman, which may create controversy as he is the sole Chinese leader from GRS coalition who will represent the Chinese community on the backbenchers side.

Yong, a former chief minister was offered one of the six nominated assemblymen positions recommended by the chief minister, but not a ministerial or assistant ministerial post.

Yong himself did not stand in the recently concluded elections, but his party contested in two seats but lost both.In the 16th Sabah state election on Sept 26, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) won 38 of the 73 seats contested to form the new state government. GRS comprises Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

Warisan Plus, made up of Warisan, Upko, DAP, PKR and Amanah, won 32 seats while the other three went to independent candidates.

On Sept 29, Hajiji, the Sabah PN chairman, was sworn in as the 16th Chief Minister of Sabah before Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin at Istana Negeri.