July 31, 2008 19:46 PM

Two Ministers Swap Portfolios In Minor Sarawak Cabinet Reshuffle

KUCHING, July 31 (Bernama) -- Two state ministers are swapping portfolios in a minor reshuffle of the Sarawak state cabinet, which takes effect Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said.

Confirming the long-awaited reshuffle on Thursday, he said Environment and Public Health Minister Datuk Michael Manyin would take over as Minister of Urban Development and Tourism from Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh, who would be appointed to be in charge of the former's current portfolio.

"The reshuffle was endorsed by the state cabinet at its weekly meeting chaired by Chief Minister and Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud this morning," he told Bernama here.

However, he said, Wong would remain as the State Second Minister of Finance following this latest reshuffle, which was postponed since the last Sarawak Legislative Assembly sitting in May this year due to recent developments in the nation's political arena.

Contrary to earlier expectations, Dr Chan said there would not be any additional appointments of "new blood" into the cabinet , whose status quo is retained with nine full ministers and 16 assistant ministers.

Only one assistant minister is involved in the reshuffle - Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office (Bumiputra Entrepreneur Development) as well as Land Development involving Mohd Naroden Majais who would now also assist in the Planning and Resource Management portfolio, he said.

In the last reshuffle, which was made shortly after the May 2006 state election, Taib and his deputies - Dr Chan and Tan Sri Alfred Jabu held three portfolios each.

Apart from being the chief minister, Taib is also Minister of Finance and Planning and Resource Management Minister.

Dr Chan's other two portfolios are Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture and Minister of Industrial Development while Jabu's are Infrastructure Development and Communications and Rural Development.

The current state cabinet is also smaller as Datuk Sharifah Mordiah Tuanku Fauzi resigned from her post as Assistant Minister of Women's Affairs prior to the state's last election, which also saw two assistant ministers - Datuk Sim Kheng Hui and Datuk Alfred Yap - being defeated in it.

Another assistant minister's post remained vacant following the demise of Ba'Kelalan assemblyman Datuk Dr Judson Sakai Tagal in a helicopter crash in 2004.

-- BERNAMA

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