What a day! Less than 3 hours after being appointed Works Minister , I am now Local Government & Housing Minister. I swapped job with Bung. Please don’t ask me the reasons. I will tell all after i retire.
— Masidi Manjun (@MasidiM) September 29, 2020
KOTA KINABALU (Sept 29): Newly-minted Sabah cabinet member Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun has expressed exasperation at the swapping of portfolio with Sabah Barisan Nasional chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin hours after they were appointed this morning.
Posting his reaction on Twitter soon after the swap was announced, Masidi also alluded to the possibility that negotiations between Gabungan Rakyat Sabah members over the ministerial posts might not have gone smoothly.
“What a day! Less than 3 hours after being appointed Works Minister, I am now Local Government & Housing Minister. I swapped job with Bung. Please don’t ask me the reasons. I will tell all after i retire,” he tweeted.
At the swearing in ceremony in the Istana Negeri this morning, Masidi took his oath of office as Works Minister and Bung Moktar had sworn in as Local Government and Housing Minister.
However, Sabah’s new chief minister, Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor, announced later that Masidi and Bung Moktar had swapped portfolio and that Masidi was also appointed as Second Finance Minister.
Hajiji, who is Sabah Perikatan Nasional chairman and Sabah Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chief, denied that the swap was caused by a dispute and explained that he needed Masidi’s financial expertise to revive the state’s economy in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bung, who is Sabah Umno chief, was also appointed as one of three deputy chief ministers. The other two are Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) vice president Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam.