The Sarawak state cabinet reshuffle, effective Dec 1, will include six new faces being appointed assistant ministers and three assistant ministers dropped from the line-up while the sole partyless Pelagus assemblyperson Larry Sng is retained as assistant minister.

taib mahmud Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, who retained his portfolios in the Finance Ministry as well as Planning and Resource Management Ministry, said the much-awaited reshuffle was in preparation for the implementation of the 10th Malaysia Plan and beyond, including after the state election due in 2011.

Taib has been chief minister of Sarawak for more than 28 years.

Announcing this at a media conference here today, Taib, who is also state BN chairperson said the six new assistant ministers included three from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) - Abdul Wahab Aziz (Kalaka), Talib Zulpilip (Jepak) and Dr Stephen Rundi Utom (Kemena).

Two others from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) are John Sikie Tayai (Kakus) and Mong Dagang (Bukit Begunan) as well as Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP)'s Peter Nansian Ngusie (Tasik Biru).

larry sng There were no new assistant ministers appointed from the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), which lost eight seats in the 2008 state election but Sng, who was previously sacked from the PRS, is retained as assistant minister in the Chief Minister's Office besides the post of assistant minister for industrial development.

"I would like to see Sng ( right ) retained because we do not have enough young Chinese leaders. Things like that can be sorted out before the election," Taib said when referring to the position of the Sarawak cabinet's youngest member as a result of the PRS internal leadership crisis.

Three PBB assistant ministers dropped

Dropped from the new line-up were the three assistant ministers from PBB - Bolhassan Di, Hamden Ahmad and Ambrose Blikau, who is being replaced by Dr Rundi as the new assistant minister for public utilities cum public health.

Taib's two deputies - SUPP president Dr George Chan is tasked to be in charge of the new Tourism and Heritage Ministry with Mong and Talib as his assistants apart from retaining the industrial development portfolio.

PBB deputy president Alfred Jabu, who retained the rural development porfolio, also takes over the Modernisation of Agriculture Ministry from Chan.

Both SPDP president William Mawan and PRS president Dr James Masing retained their portfolio respectively as social development and urbanisation minister and land development minister.

Another PBB deputy president, Abang Johari Openg, will be responsible for the urban development portfolio, which is merged with his current housing portfolio to become the Housing and Urban Development Ministry.

PBB vice-president Michael Manyin takes over the Infrastructure Development and Communication Ministry while Second Finance Minister Wong Soon Koh retained the environment and public health portfolio.

Second Plannlng and Resource Management Minister Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan also retained his portfolio at the Public Utilities Ministry.

Wahab has been appointed as assistant minister for rural development as well as housing and urban development, while Sikie is assistant minister for rural district council and Nansian for environment.

The status quo remained for the rest of the assistant ministers, including assistant minister in the Chief Minister's Office (Human Resources and Training) Fatimah Abdullah, who is the sole woman in the administration.

- Bernama