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KOTA KINABALU: STAR Chairman Jeffrey Kitingan harshly criticized Acting Chief Minister Shafie Apdal for the latter’s plan to establish two new ministries if the state Warisan Plus coalition returns to power after the Sabah elections.
Jeffrey, who is a Keningau MP, said what Sabah needed was a competent government instead of two new ministries.
He questioned the need for the new portfolios, claiming that the Warisan president had failed to restructure and refocus his administration despite having 26 months to do so.
Jeffrey pointed out that the Warisan-led government had already restructured and renamed three ministries since taking office in May 2018. He was referring to the Ministry of Education and Innovation, the Ministry of Health and People’s Welfare, and the Ministry of Native Affairs and Right.
“How did these new ministries perform? What have they been doing? What led Shafie to suddenly realize that he needs two more new ministries? Jeffrey asked in a statement today.
“Why should ordinary Sabahans believe (Shafie) about the proposed new ministries?”
He also questioned whether the two proposed ministries could end up being a waste of money.
Last week, Shafie revealed his plans to establish two new ministries if his coalition remains in power after the next election. However, she did not specify what these new ministries were.
Jeffrey went on to say that such a move will incur substantial expenses, administrative costs, and emoluments.
According to him, this grand plan seemed ridiculous, claiming that the Sabah government had not managed the state and its financial affairs well.
“His government has not even been able to formulate and implement policies that support the investment climate,” he said, adding that Shafie, who was also the state finance minister, had not provided much-needed economic leadership.
Jeffrey further claimed that Shafie had vengefully pursued the replacement of CEOs and department heads in agencies that were seen as supporting the previous Barisan Nasional government with their own people.
One example was the appointment of the director of the water department which was later found to have been a violation of Sabah laws, he said.
“This measure had left the state government with less experienced officials. Many officers had no prior experience, for example in project development planning and implementation. “
