KOTA KINABALU: A number of new faces from Sabah have been speculated to fill Federal Cabinet posts left vacant following MCA and Gerakan’s decision not to accept any appointments to the Federal Cabinet due to their dismal performance in the recent 13th general election.
Among the names mentioned to be appointed as ministers from Sabah is Beaufort Umno Disvion chief Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun, who is former State Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister.
Azizah was nominated for the Beaufort parliamentary seat after its incumbent Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Ukin left the ruling coalition and contested under the Parti Keadilan Rakyat ticket for the seat, as well as the Klias state seat. Lajim only won the latter.
Political insiders disclosed that Azizah is most likely to be appointed a full minister in view of her vast experience in politics and administration. She was also a former deputy miniter in the federal cabinet.
Other than Azizah, two Members of Parliament from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), namely Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin, 57, (Batu Sapi) and Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching @ Mary Yap Ken Jin, 62, (Tawau) are also tipped to be new faces in the Cabinet.
Tsen, the PBS Wanita deputy chief, first won in the Batu Sapi by-election on November 4, 2010 following the death of her husband Datuk Edmond Chong Ket Wah in a road tragedy, while Yap, who contested for the first time in GE13, was a former super principal who held the JUSA post before retiring in 2007.
Yap, who holds a Master’s in Education from Leeds University, United Kingdom, was also a senior consultant at Institute Aminuddin Baki and was on the advisory panel to the education ministry for cluster schools.
The GE13 saw a total of seven Federal Cabinet ministers, including two of them from Sabah, failing to retain their seats.