KOTA KINABALU - Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has been sworn in as Sabah Chief Minister for a second term before Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Musa Aman.
Hajiji, who retained the Sulaman seat in the state polls, took his oath of office at 3.05am on Sunday (Nov 30) at Istana Seri Kinabalu after GRS formed a coalition state government with Upko, Pakatan Harapan and five Independents.
This marks another milestone in Hajiji’s political career, which began in 1990 when he first won the Sulaman state seat.
The 70-year-old leader, born on May 10, 1955, in Kampung Serusup, Tuaran, is married to Datin Julia Salag and has three sons, one daughter and 12 grandchildren.
Throughout his decades in public service, Hajiji has held several key state government roles, including Local Government and Housing Minister and Assistant Minister in portfolios such as Culture, Youth and Sports; the Chief Minister’s Department and Finance.
He was first sworn in as Sabah’s 16th Chief Minister on Sept 29, 2020.
Hajiji entered politics in his 30s through the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), contesting and winning the Sulaman seat in the 1990 state election.
He has successfully defended the seat in every subsequent election, including the 17th state polls yesterday, where he secured a majority of 8,919 votes in a five-cornered contest.
Hajiji, who also serves as Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah president, previously held leadership roles as Tuaran Umno division chief, Sabah Umno chairman, Sabah Bersatu chief and Sabah Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman.
In the recently concluded 17th Sabah election, GRS won 29 seats, Upko two, Pakatan Harapan one and five Independents, giving the coalition 37 seats and a simple majority in the 73-seat assembly.
Warisan won 25 seats but was unable to form the state government. Other winners were Barisan Nasional (six), Sabah Star (two), Perikatan Nasional (one) and KDM (one).