KUCHING, Oct 28 2026: Premier Abang Johari Openg has confirmed that there are state ministers from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) who have offered to step aside to make way for new faces to contest in the upcoming state election.
However, he declined to name them for now, but said he will announce the names once the Election Commission (EC) has set the nomination and polling dates for the state election.
“There are some, but I cannot disclose that right now. They are indeed from PBB. Just wait,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the GPS leadership council at the PBB headquarters in Petra Jaya today.
PBB, the main component party of Gabungan Parti Sarawak, has Douglas Uggah and Awang Tengah Ali Hasan as deputy premier and Fatimah Abduilah, Julaihi Narawi, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah and Dr Stephen Rundie as state ministers.
It is a public knowledge that Karim, who is caretaker Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister, has expressed his desire to not defend his Asajaya state seat in the coming election.
However, he had told reporters that the final decision lied with the premier and PBB president Abang Johari as well as the voters in Asajaya.
His decision to step down is believed due to his failure to defend his post as vice president of PBB during the party Triennial Delegates Convention on February 15, 2025.
He received 669 votes, placing him 5th out of six candidates. Only the top four candidates secured the vice-presidential positions.
After the results were declared, Karim offered to step down as the state minister. However, the premier had said that the party election had nothing to do with the appointments of cabinet ministers.
Abang Johari said as the premier it was his sole prerogative to pick who he wanted to be in the state cabinet.
In June this year, Uggah, who is also PBB deputy president, had told reporters that he would leave it to wisdom of the party president to determine whether a leader should retire or continue serving the people.
He was asked to respond to speculations that he would not be contesting in the state election.
“We are getting old. We are running out of ideas. We may not be able to keep up with the technology. So, we leave it to the premier to decide,” he was quoted as saying by the media.
Apart from Uggah and Karim, another state minister may not be seeking re-election.
The minister was reported to have told the premier of the desire before the 2021 state election.
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