Sabah Cabinet reshuffle not the unity government PM Anwar wants, says UMNO state chief

KOTA KINABALU: Former Sabah deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin has claimed the state’s reshuffled Cabinet is not the idea of a unity government as previously mooted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. 

According to local media, Mr Bung Moktar said on Wednesday (Jan 11) the two United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) assemblymen included in Mr Hajiji’s Noor new Cabinet did not represent the party. 

The two are Deputy Chief Minister and Works Minister Shahelmey Yahya as well as Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister James Ratib. 

They were among five assemblymen from UMNO who had previously broken ranks and publicly announced their support for Mr Hajiji.

Mr Bung Mokhtar, the Sabah UMNO chief, was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today that the two assemblymen were not recognised by the party. 

“Hajiji cannot say (that they are representing UMNO) or recognise them as representing the party in his Cabinet line-up,” Mr Bung Mokhtar reportedly said.

The news portal added that Mr Bung Mokhtar will raise the inclusion of the two assemblymen in the state’s Cabinet with UMNO’s disciplinary board as well as party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Separately, Mr Shahelmey – who replaced Mr Bung Mokhtar as deputy chief minister and works minister in the reshuffle – said that the new Cabinet under Mr Hajiji aligns with Mr Anwar’s idea of a unity state government. 

He said: “This is part of the formula for a unity government, because with the three new faces in the Cabinet – we have Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) in the line-up.”

Mr Shahelmy also affirmed his position as an UMNO member, saying that he has yet to hear from the party’s leadership over his decision to support Mr Hajiji.

“I am still an UMNO member,” he told Free Malaysia Today.