Adenan ‘glad to be back’ after six-year absence

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KUCHING: Tanjung Datu assemblyman Datuk Amar Adenan Satem did not hide his happiness yesterday at being given a ministerial portfolio by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud on Thursday.“I am back,” he was all smiles when met at the opening of The Borneo Post International Education Fair 2010 here yesterday.

Adenan was appointed Special Advisor to the Chief Minister’s Department in charge of public affairs and a watching brief for Information and Broadcasting, during a minor cabinet reshuffle announced by Taib on Thursday.

Adenan, who is also Yayasan Sarawak chairman, said he was “glad to be back” and promised to use his accumulated experience to help the state.

“I will begin by giving briefing to the relevant departments to get better understanding of the current condition and environment as a whole and then figure out my next step,” he said.

When asked on the future challenges in his new post, he said that the challenges would be different compared to back then, due to the widespread use of the Internet and blogging.

“I hope to try my best to be prepared to face those challenges. I hope that my past experience in the federal and state cabinets would be helpful,” said Adenan.

The appointment takes effect on April 2. It also ended Adenan’s six-year absence from the state cabinet.

Adenan is a political veteran. He was at various times Social Development Minister and Agriculture and Food Industries Minister in the state cabinet.

In 2004, he won the Batang Sadong seat in the parliamentary election. Due to his appointment as Natural Resources and Environment Minister in the Federal Cabinet, he had to relinquish his state cabinet post.

About two years later, he resigned from the federal post as he wanted to focus more attention to state’s matters.

His appointment had surprised many, especially since many thought he would not make a ‘comeback’ to the state cabinet after he was moved from Muara Tuang to Tanjung Datu in 2006 state election, and not re-nominated in the 2008 general election.

Two others involved in the latest cabinet reshuffle are Dalat assemblywoman Datin Fatimah Abdullah and Batu Kawah assemblyman Tan Joo Phoi.

Fatimah has been ‘promoted’ from assistant minister to the newly created post of Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, while Tan will be the Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department in-charge of environmental matters.