Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today expressed his sadness at not having Sabah caretaker chief minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, whom he described as his good friend, with him in leading the government.

The prime minister said that he and Shafie were comrades, especially in Umno, until he was sacked and Shafie decided to leave the party.

"But what I am sad about is that now that I am the prime minister, the leadership of Sabah is not with me. He (Shafie) is my good friend because in politics, one day you can be friends and the next moment you are enemies.

"But when it comes to the administration of the country, as far as possible the federal and state governments must be the same, and of one heart and one mind,” he said while revealing that Shafie had welcomed him at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport today.

He said this when speaking at "An Evening With the Prime Minister" event at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu tonight.

Muhyiddin, who is making his first official visit to the state since becoming prime minister, was welcomed by Shafie and photographs of the two leaders doing a fist bump at the airport had been widely shared by many on social media.

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