The Ketua Menteri Sabah or Chief Minister of Sabah is the
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
of the
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n state of
Sabah
Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...
. Since September 2020, the position has been held by
Hajiji Noor
Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji bin Noor ( ms, عزيزي بن نور, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 10 May 1956) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 16th Chief Minister of Sabah and State Minister of Finance since Se ...
from the
Malaysian United Indigenous Party
The Malaysian United Indigenous Party ( ms, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia), abbreviated BERSATU or PPBM, is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia (). It is a major c ...
(BERSATU),
Perikatan Nasional
The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbreviation, abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coa ...
(PN) from the coalition of
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) which had won the
2020 Sabah state election
The 2020 Sabah state election took place on 26 September 2020 to elect all 73 elected members of the 16th Sabah State Legislative Assembly. The previous Assembly was dissolved on 30 July 2020.
The state snap election was called prematurely af ...
. As in other parts of the Malaysian
federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
, the
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
is adopted, whereby, the leader of the
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...
with the most seats in the
state legislature would usually become the chief minister of Sabah. In other words, it is the person commanding the support of the state legislature. The chief minister is appointed by the
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
known as the
Yang di-Pertua Negeri
In Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri ( in Malay) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in states without a Ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak. This is in constrast to a Ruler () which is a constitutional title giv ...
. In comparison to other states in Malaysia, the office of the Chief Minister of Sabah has been held by a more diverse group of people in terms of ethnicity and religion. The post has been held by
Kadazan-Dusun
Kadazan-Dusun (also written as Kadazandusun or Mamasok Kadazan-Dusun) also less-known as "Mamasok Sabah" are two indigenous peoples of Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun. The Kadazandusun is the largest native group of Bu ...
s,
Bajaus,
Malays,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Muruts,
Rungus
The Momogun Rungus are an ethnic group of Borneo, residing primarily in northern Sabah in the area surrounding Kudat Peninsular, Kota Marudu, Pitas Bengkoka Peninsular and Beluran. A sub-group of the Dayak, they have a distinctive language, ...
,
Sungai,
Idaans, and other persons of mixed heritage as well as being Muslims, Buddhists and Christians.
Rotation system: 1994–2004
The rotation system was used in the state of
Sabah
Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...
as a means to divide and share power among the three main communities of the state—the
Christian Bumiputra
''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controve ...
s, the
Muslim Bumiputras, and the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
people—represented by various political parties within the
Barisan National
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 s ...
coalition supposedly representing the interests of those communities. The system was introduced by the then
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fed ...
Mahathir Mohamad when the ruling coalition party, Barisan Nasional, formed government despite losing in the
1994 state elections. This occurred due to defections which took place by elected representatives of
Parti Bersatu Sabah
The United Sabah Party ( ms, Parti Bersatu Sabah, abbreviated PBS) is a political party of Sabah. The PBS was founded by Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1985 and it is Sabah's oldest local party. In August 2020, PBS confirmed that they would be using ...
(PBS), the party which won the election. Among the defectors were
Bernard Dompok, who later became the chief minister himself and
Joseph Kurup
Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Kurup (born 15 December 1944) is a Malaysian politician who served as 1st and founding President of the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from March 1 ...
.
The system provided that the chief ministerial post will be held by a leader from one of the three communities for two years, and then the post will be passed on to another leader representing another community. The first chief minister under this system was
Sakaran Dandai
Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Sakaran Mohd Hashim bin Dandai (15 April 1930 – 30 August 2021) was a Malaysian politician.
Biography
He served as the 8th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah from January 1995 to December 2002, 8th Chief Minister of Saba ...
from the party
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation ( Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its ...
(UMNO) in 1994. Sakaran did not complete his two-year tenure and was replaced by
Salleh Said Keruak
Datuk Seri Panglima Md Salleh bin Md Said ( Jawi: محمد صالح بن محمد سعيد; born 10 July 1958), commonly known as Salleh Said Keruak, is a Malaysian politician who was Chief Minister of the state of Sabah from 1994 to 1996. He ...
, also from UMNO. In 1996,
Yong Teck Lee
Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee (; born 3 October 1958) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 10th Chief Minister of Sabah from May 1996 to May 1998, Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah from July 1990 to December 1995, Member of Parliamen ...
from
Sabah Progressive Party
The Sabah Progressive Party ( ms, Parti Maju Sabah, abbreviated SAPP) is a multiracial political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. It was registered on 21 January 1994 by dissidents led by former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee from Uni ...
(SAPP) became next chief minister.
Bernard Dompok then became the next chief minister representing the Christian Bumiputra community in 1998. His tenure lasted until 1999.
Appointment
Source
Constitution of the State of Sabahbr />
According to the state constitution, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah shall first appoint the Chief Minister to preside over the Cabinet and requires such Chief Minister to be a member of the Legislative Assembly who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly and must not a Malaysian citizen by naturalisation or by registration. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri on the Chief Minister's advice shall appoint not more than ten nor less than four Ministers from among the members of the Legislative Assembly.
The Chief Minister and his cabinet ministers must take and subscribe in the presence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri the oath of office and allegiance as well as the oath of secrecy before they can exercise the functions of office. The Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly. The members of the Cabinet shall not hold any office of profit and engage in any trade, business or profession that will cause
conflict of interest.
If a government cannot get its
appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, or the Legislative Assembly passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the Chief Minister is bound by convention to resign immediately. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri's choice of replacement chief minister will be dictated by the circumstances. Ministers other than the Chief Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, unless the appointment of any Minister shall have been revoked by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri on the advice of the Chief Minister but may at any time resign his office.
Following a resignation in other circumstances, defeated in an election or the death of a chief minister, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri will generally appoint as Chief Minister the person voted by the governing party as their new leader.
Powers
The power of the chief minister is subject to a number of limitations. Chief ministers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a
vote of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
in the Legislative Assembly, must advise a state election or resign the office or be dismissed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri. The defeat of a
supply bill (one that concerns the spending of money) or unable to pass important policy-related legislation is seen to require the resignation of the government or dissolution of Legislative Assembly, much like a non-confidence vote, since a government that cannot spend money is hamstrung, also called
loss of supply
Loss of supply occurs where a government in a parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer funds, by whichever house or houses of parliament or head of state is con ...
.
The chief minister's party will normally have a majority in the Legislative Assembly and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Sabahan politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the Legislative Assembly is mostly a formality.
Caretaker Chief Minister
The legislative assembly unless sooner dissolved by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri with His Excellency's own discretion on the advice of the chief minister shall continue for five years from the date of its first meeting. The state constitution permits a delay of 90 days of general election to be held from the date of dissolution and the legislative assembly shall be summoned to meet on a date not later than 120 days from the date of dissolution. Conventionally, between the dissolution of one legislative assembly and the convening of the next, the chief minister and the cabinet remain in office in a
caretaker
Caretaker may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker''
* '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital
* Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...
capacity.
List of chief ministers of Sabah
The following is the list of Chief Ministers of Sabah since 1963:
Colour key (for political parties):
Living former chief ministers
See also
*
Governor of North Borneo
The Governor of North Borneo was the appointed head of the government of North Borneo.
Originally the Governor was appointed by the North Borneo Chartered Company, which was responsible for the administration of the protectorate. Upon North Bo ...
Notes
References
{{Menteri Besars and Chief Ministers
*