SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg has made some minor adjustments to his state cabinet today, making his deputy Douglas Uggah Embas the second finance minister, promoting an assistant minister to a minister and adding a new minister.

Uggah takes over a portfolio that was made vacant by the resignation of Wong Soon Koh over political differences.

Apart from redesignating a few ministries to reflect the state’s drive towards a modern economy, no one was dropped in the reshuffle. 

Uggah will also keep his portfolio as agriculture, native land and regional development minister.

Tourism, arts and culture, youth and sports assistant minister Lee Kim Shin, from Sarawak United People’s Party, has been made the minister of the newly created Transport Ministry.

The new assistant minister for the portfolio is Dr Jerip Susil.

The new face in the cabinet is Piasau assemblyman and SUPP secretary-general Sebastian Ting, who is now assistant minister in a now split Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.

The Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Ministry is now split into the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and the Youth and Sports Ministry, with Abdul Karim Hamzah heading both.

Abang Johari still retains the urban development and natural resources portfolio with Deputy Chief Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hassan as the second minister and Len Talif Salleh as assistant minister.

Awang Tengah still keeps his industrial and entrepreneur development portfolio but has the international trade portfolio, once held by Wong, and the development of industrial terminals added to it.

The ministry’s new name is the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development.

The chief minister said the “slight reshuffling” and the re-designating of ministries is to reflect the state’s economic transformation drive to make Sarawak a developed stated by 2030.

He said as a result of the drive, leaders of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak have agreed to consolidate their policies and implement those that can be a “strong driver” to the state’s economic development.

The state government, in a run in to the state election expected in 2021, will focus on five key areas.

The areas are the consolidation and development of all ports in the state, further strengthen the state’s participation in the oil and gas sector in the next 10 years, modernise its agriculture sector, improve urban transportation and strengthen its tourism sector.

Consolidating and upgrading the ports now fall on to Deputy Chief Minister James Masing who is also the minister of the re-designated Ministry of Infrastructure and Ports Development.

The ministry prior to today was the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Transport.

The chief minister said consolidating and upgrading Sarawak ports are key in the drive for Sarawak to become a developed state by 2030.

“We are a trading state. There are a lot of imports and exports because of the success of our manufacturing industry,” he said.

While he said ports and harbours fall under the purview of the state as spelt out in the federal constitution, he sidestepped questions on whether that meant the state is signalling an intent to take over the federal-administered Bintulu port. – August 22, 2019.