KOTA KINABALU:
Four Assistant Ministers were sworn in before the Head of State Tun Ahmadshah Abdullah at the Istana Negeri here witnessed by High Court Judge Datuk Clement Skinner yesterday. They were Assistant Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Ghulamhaidar Khan Bahadar, Assistant Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Herbert Timbun Lagadan and Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministers Datuk Ellron Angin and Bolkiah Ismail. Also present were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman, Deputy Chief Minister cum Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Juhar Mahiruddin and other members of the State Cabinet. The four Assistant Ministers took their oath of office following a recent decision by the State Legislative Assembly to pass the amendment to the State Constitution to increase the Assistant Minister posts from l4 to 18. The other 14 Assistant Ministers for the various portfolios were sworn in together with the full Ministers soon after the March 8 general election in which the State Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Musa won 59 State seats and 24 Parliamentary seats, losing only Sri Tanjung and Kota Kinabalu to the opposition DAP.
