Sabah minister to step down soon

Sabah minister to step down soon

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia's Sabah state chief minister
Sakaran Dandai says he will relinquish his post soon, the
national news agency Bernama reported yesterday.

"Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has agreed... it has been
planned and not something which was raised today," the agency
quoted Sakaran as saying in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.

Analysts said Mahathir is fulfilling a pledge to rotate the
chief minister's post among the north Borneo state's main
communities made during the state election campaign.

Sakaran was reported as saying the choice of his successor was
up to the party, after talks with Mahathir during a meeting on
Saturday after the United Malays National Organization (UMNO)
general assembly ended for the day.

Mahathir's ruling National Front coalition, where UMNO is the
dominant party, took power in Sabah despite losing in the state
elections in March, when key legislators quit the Sabah Unity
Party shortly after it won the polls.