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KOTA KINABALU: Senior Deputy Minister Jeffrey Kitingan has warned the public not to believe rumors on social media that a member of the PAS would be appointed as an assemblyman and later appointed minister for indigenous law and affairs.
Jeffrey, who is also minister of agriculture and food industries, said he had heard of those rumors as well.
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors and read a lot of fake news and all sorts of things,” he told reporters after first entering the ministry of agriculture and food industries in Wisma Pertanian here today.
“No, that’s not true. I know because the person to be named is someone else. So this is all fake news.
“They are designed to create hatred and disharmony. I think we should be careful what we read in the news, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.
“I won’t be surprised tomorrow (there will be claims that) all of Wisma Pertanian will be quarantined due to Covid-19 … don’t worry about it (rumors about the PAS-nominated assemblyman).”
It has been speculated that a member of the PAS would be named as one of the six nominated assembly members and then as minister since yesterday.
This was amplified after Barisan Nasional (BN) general secretary Annuar Musa posted on Twitter that he expected PAS, a political ally in Muafakat Nasional, to receive a nominated assemblyman post.
Annuar had said yesterday on Twitter that he believed Umno would be given two more slots, while the remaining three spots could go to PBS, STAR and PPBM.
On Annuar’s comments, Jeffrey, who is the president of STAR, said: “Well, that’s his version.”
Meanwhile, in another comment by Annuar that the government of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) could not have a Chinese minister as all the Chinese candidates lost in the elections, Jeffrey assured people not to worry.
“We will analyze all these, including the Chinese community, no one will be left behind.
“Actually, we (the three vice ministers) are all taking care of the people, including the Chinese community.
“We are not only dealing with the Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) or Bumiputera (Muslims). We are taking care of everyone, ”he said.
In addition to Jeffrey, the head of Sabah BN, Bung Moktar Radin, and the vice president of PBS, Joachim Gunsalam, are the other two deputy ministers.
When asked about his hopes that more members of the STAR assembly will be appointed to Prime Minister Hajiji Noor’s state cabinet, the Keningau MP said the party had made its proposal.
“We have many leaders in our party and they too have their hopes and aspirations. We hope to help them, (maybe) not immediately, but as we move forward, ”he said.
STAR, which is part of Perikatan Nasional, secured six seats in last week’s election, including through Jeffrey, who retained the Tambunan seat for a second term.
