Sabah to curb minister's powers

Sabah to curb minister's powers

KOTA KINABLU, Malaysia (AFP): Malaysia's politically-volatile Sabah state has passed amendments to five laws to clip the powers of its chief minister and check his authority over land, forestry and mining.

The controversial changes were passed by a more than two- thirds majority late on Monday after a heated 10-hour sitting of the Sabah state legislative assembly, officials said yesterday.

Chief minister Yong Teck Lee told reporters the changes merely transferred some of the chief minister's powers over the state's natural resources to the state cabinet.

"The chief minister will no longer have the power to make people become instant millionaires," said Yong, who took over the helm of the timber-rich eastern state in May.

Yong is to lead the state for the next two years under a controversial scheme implemented by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to rotate the post among the state's three major ethnic groups -- ethnic Malays, Chinese and indigenous Kadazans.