KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said he valued his appointment to the federal government to look after the affairs of Sabah and Sarawak.
He said there are many issues faced by the people of Sabah and Sarawak that needed to be addressed at the federal level.
"We (PBS) greatly value the appointment and I will seek to do my personal best in the new portfolio of overseeing Sabah and Sarawak affairs.
"I express my gratefulness for the opportunity to serve the country once again as a member of the Federal Cabinet under the leadership of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin," he said in a statement tonight.
The Kota Marudu MP said the appointment is an opportunity to address and resolve the key perennial concerns and problems faced by Sabah and Sarawak within the ambit of the Malaysian Federation, whether in matters of law, policies, security and their overall development.
Earlier, Muhyiddin announced the new Cabinet line-up, naming Ongkili as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs).
Muhyiddin had said he created the special portfolio to keep the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 alive, which will be translated into policies and programmes that would directly benefit the people of East Malaysia.
Ongkili started his career as a lecturer with Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now Universiti Putra Malaysia) and later held several senior research positions with the Institute of Strategic and International Malaysia (1985-1987).
He was also the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Development Studies (Sabah) from 1991 to 1994.
His foray into politics began in 1994 when he was fielded as a candidate under the PBS ticket, and won the Langkon state seat in the general election.
He has been the Kota Marudu MP since 1995 and a three-term member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 2008.
Ongkili was first appointed into the Federal Cabinet in 2004 as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, holding the portfolio of national unity and integration from 2004 to 2008.
He had previously held the Minister post of Science, Technology and Innovation.