Bung disappointed with cabinet, claims Sabah 'marginalised'
Bung claimed Anwar’s decision appeared to marginalise Sabah BN - which has seven MPs - who were the earliest supporters of his appointment as the 10th prime minister.
He also described the ministerial appointments of two Sabah MPs - Ewon Benedick and Armizan Mohd Ali - as...
BN Sabah chairperson Bung Moktar Radin expressed his disappointment at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s new cabinet line-up unveiled yesterday - which saw no Sabah BN MPs appointed as ministers.
Bung claimed Anwar’s decision appeared to marginalise Sabah BN - which has seven MPs - who were the earliest supporters of his appointment as the 10th prime minister.
He also described the ministerial appointments of two Sabah MPs - Ewon Benedick and Armizan Mohd Ali - as disproportionate compared to the number of minister positions Sarawak MPs now hold.
Sarawak MPs have five ministry portfolios including the deputy prime minister post.
“The formation of the new cabinet of the government seems to have seen Sabah marginalised in appointments, especially representatives from Sabah BN who gave their initial commitment together with BN’s central body to support Harapan as the government and Anwar as the prime minister candidate.
“None of the seven (Sabah) BN MPs were appointed as full ministers.
“The amount is also seen as disproportionate compared to the neighbouring state, Sarawak, which has five portfolios including the position of deputy prime minister,” said Bung (above) in a media statement today.
He hoped Anwar did not mean to marginalise Sabah’s development, especially infrastructure projects in the East Malaysian state.
Similarly, the Kinabatangan MP reminded the new government to speed up the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway Project (PBHS) - which stalled during Harapan’s federal administration in 2018.
“We do not want Sabah to be marginalised once again in terms of development, especially the implementation of infrastructure projects important for the convenience of the state’s rakyat.
“The Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project, for example, must be continued and accelerated. We do not want to see this project stalled again like what happened when Harapan became the government in 2018,” said Bung.
Cabinet appointments
Earlier, the announcement of the new federal government cabinet saw Sabah given two ministry portfolios with Ewon Benedick helming the Entrepreneurship Development and Cooperatives Ministry while Armizan Mohd Ali will be a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs).
At the same time, Sarawak was given five ministry portfolios through the appointment of Fadillah Yusof as deputy prime minister and plantation and commodities minister, Alexander Nanta Linggi for the Public Works Ministry, Nancy Shukri for the Women, Families, and Community Development Ministry, Tiong King Sing as tourism minister, and Ago Dagang for the National Unity Ministry.
In the recent 15th general election, Sabah BN won seven parliamentary seats. Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) took six, Harapan won five, Warisan grabbed three, independents won two, while Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) both clinched one seat each.
