Sabah DAP has welcomed chief minister Hajiji Noor’s pledge to appoint a Chinese deputy chief minister should the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration return to power in the upcoming state polls.
The state chapter’s deputy chairman, Chan Foong Hin, said it was previously a long-standing tradition for the Sabah government to have a Chinese deputy chief minister.
This ensured the fair representation of all communities and reaffirmed equality, the federal deputy minister said.
“Sabah DAP strongly supports this agenda of equality for all. I am proud of Sabah and of the progress we are achieving together,” he said in a Facebook post.
Sabah had always had a Chinese deputy chief minister in its state Cabinet, although this tradition ended with the GRS administration in 2020 as the state government did not have any Chinese assemblymen at the time.
The last Chinese deputy chief minister was PKR‘s Christina Liew in the Shafie Apdal-led administration formed in 2018.
After a failed attempt by Sabah Barisan Nasional to unseat Hajiji as chief minister in 2023, the GRS chairman received PH’s backing and roped the coalition into the state administration.
Sabah DAP chief Phoong Jin Zhe and former state PH chairman Christina Liew then became ministers, restoring Chinese representation in the state Cabinet.
Chan also hailed Hajiji’s pledge to recognise the Chinese vernacular schools’ Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and allow students to obtain state scholarships and enroll in state-owned universities.
He said these announcements embodied the GRS-PH government’s vision for the next term should it receive a fresh mandate from the people, and the consensus forged by both coalitions.
“Over the past two years, we have engaged regularly with the chief minister on the needs and aspirations of Sabah’s Chinese community.
“His latest decisions show that these proposals are being taken seriously, not only as a symbol of peaceful coexistence and equality in Sabah, but also as an important signal for national politics,” said the Kota Kinabalu MP.
