DATUK Christina Liew, Sabah Pakatan Harapan chairman, is facing a renewed challenge for her post, this time from Upko.
Liew, who has held the post since 2016, however, firmly stated that the decision to appoint the PH state chief was solely under the purview of Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“The position is the prerogative of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” she told reporters after hosting a Chinese New Year luncheon with Sabah media practitioners in Kota Kinabalu.
Liew said this following remarks by an Upko leader recently that his party should lead Sabah PH. Upko is a component of the PH coalition.
Upko information chief Peter Jr Naintin urged the party to assume the leadership role on January 28. However, Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick has not responded to Naintin’s suggestion.
This is not the first time Liew, who took over the position from the late Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, who held the post for four years from 2012, faced talk of being replaced.
Previously, reports said that she would be replaced by former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman. But Liew had since dismissed them as rumours.
Meanwhile, Liew, who also serves as Sabah’s tourism, culture, and environment minister, announced an intensified effort to establish direct flights from Western nations to the state this year.
She highlighted active efforts by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) team, led by the new CEO Julinus Jeffery Jimit, in securing new direct flight connections.
Her assistant minister, Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, was also present at the event. – The Vibes, February 1, 2024
