Sabah Perikatan Nasional Chairman Datuk Hajiji Noor takes oath of office as the 16th Sabah Chief Minister before the Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin at the Sabah Chief Minister swearing-in ceremony at the Istana Negeri, today. – Bernama photo
KOTA KINABALU (Sept 29): Sabah Perikatan Nasional chairman Datuk Hajiji Noor has been sworn in this morning as the 16th chief minister of Sabah, some three days after the eventful state polls last week.
At the same ceremony before the Head of State, Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, at the Istana Negeri here, three deputy chief ministers also took their oath of office.
They were Sabah Barisan Nasional chief and Lamag assemblyman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan (Tambunan) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) vice president Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam (Kundasang).
Bung, who is also Sabah Umno chief, was also sworn in as Local Government and Housing Minister; while Dr Jeffrey and Joachim took their oath of office as Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, and Industrial Development Minister respectively.
Also sworn in was Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sabah deputy chief Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun as Works Minister and PBS secretary-general Datuk Jahid Jahim as Rural Development Minister.
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), which consists of Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah, had won the state polls on Saturday with a simple majority, winning 38 out of the total 73 state seats.
Hajiji, who won in Sulaman, is the Sabah Bersatu chief.
The Warisan Plus pact, led by former chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, had managed to secure 32 seats in the polls. The alliance consisted of Shafie’s Parti Warisan Sabah, Parti Keadilan Negara, Democratic Action Party and United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation.
The snap polls was held after former Sabah Umno chief Tan Sri Musa Aman claimed to have the support of the majority in the state legislative assembly to form the state government.