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KOTA KINABALU: There was a slight stir over the change in portfolio of the head of Sabah Umno, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, just an hour after he was sworn in as Senior Deputy Minister and Minister of Housing and Local Government of Sabah.
Sources close to Bung said that it had previously been agreed that Bung would be appointed Minister of Infrastructure Development, but just before the swearing-in ceremony before Yang DiPertua Negeri, he discovered that he had been awarded the Housing and Local Government portfolio instead. .
The sources said that during the rehearsal an hour before the ceremony, the Lamag assemblyman pointed out that the infrastructure portfolio was in his name, but when he returned for the official swearing-in ceremony, he had been assigned the Local Government portfolio.
Bung did not want to raise the issue with Istana and TYT as it would have been inappropriate, they said.
Later, he decided to call a press conference on the matter because he was unhappy.
However, Bung canceled it when asked to meet with Hajiji, who had scheduled a press conference at 1.30pm.
Sources said the matter had been resolved and Bung Moktar would obtain the infrastructure portfolio that was handed over to Karanaan Assemblyman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who will now take over the housing portfolio.
The newly appointed Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, played down the matter, saying that Bung was the state’s Minister of Infrastructure.
He denied that there was discontent among the Umno leaders.
“That’s not right. Umno is here,” he said, where Bung was next to him in high spirits.
A large number of Sabah Umno supporters and leaders had started to gather at Bung Moktar’s house before his press conference, and understood that the Kuala Lumpur Bersatu leaders called for the agreed agreements to be respected.
Hajiji appointed six ministers to the 11-member cabinet. It is expected to fill five more later.
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