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.