Sabah’s State Government Set-Up

Sabah is one of the thirteen states of Malaysia. However, unlike other states in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah has its own Cabinet and Ministerial form of Government.  Sabah also has a single Chamber Legislative Assembly which are responsible over matters not reserved for the Federal Constitution. The subjects under which the State and Federal Governments can respectively legislate are laid out as the Federal and State List under the Ninth Schedule of the Federation of Malaya Constitution. In addition, there is also a concurrent list of subjects which come under the purview of both the State and Federal Governments.

State Government Ministries

The State Government Ministries formulate the policies made and decided by the State Cabinet. The Ministries also see to it that Ministerial policies under their purview are implemented by the various implementing agencies. There are eleven Ministries in Sabah. These are:

• Chief Minister Department
• Ministry of Resource Development and IT Advancement
• Ministry of Finance
• Ministry of Industrial Development
• Ministry of Local Government and Housing
• Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries
• Ministry of Rural Development and Enterprise
• Ministry of Communication and Works
• Ministry of Tourism, Environmental, Science and Technology Development
• Ministry of Youth Development, Culture and Sports Advancement
• Ministry of Social Development and Consumer Affairs

Each Ministry is headed by a Minister who is also the political head of the Ministry. A Minister may have more than one portfolio or may be without one. A Permanent Secretary acts as the Administrative head of a Ministry.