KOTA KINABALU, April 15 — The secretary-general of Sabah’s Party Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) Datuk Guandee Kohoi has confirmed that he will be sworn in tomorrow as the new deputy tourism, arts and culture minister.

The nominated senator said he is filling in the vacancy allocated to the party which was vacated when president Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan resigned to become the deputy chief minister of Sabah.

“It’s not a new post. Basically this post was Datuk Jeffrey’s post and allocated to Sabah STAR and when he left, the prime minister said that they will find a way to fill it up,” he said when contacted by Malay Mail, referring to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“Last December, I became a senator and he said I was elected for the post but there could not be a ceremony because the palace was closed due to the lockdown.”

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Since the Istana was reopened for investiture ceremonies, Guandee said he will be undergoing the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow.

“This is just filling up a vacancy, not a new post,” he reiterated.

Sabah STAR is one of the component parties in Perikatan Nasional since the beginning and Kitingan became the minister under earlier in 2020.

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Kitingan resigned from the post after the Sabah snap polls in September last year following a win by the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah alliance of which STAR is also a part of, and his subsequent appointment as deputy chief minister.