He urged the civil service to focus on the implementation of the state government’s development agenda with professionalism.

“The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government won the mandate of the people and I want all civil servants to put aside their differences to support the government of the day with professionalism,” he said when addressing his first post-Cabinet meeting with heads of department and government-linked companies (GLCs) here yesterday.

He said the GRS took over in challenging times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Many government programmes and activities had to be postponed but as soon as this pandemic subsides, we will ensure all development plans proceed,” the Sulaman assemblyman said.

Also present were state Special Tasks Minister Arifin Arif and state secretary Safar Untong.

Since returning to work following his recovery from Covid-19, Hajiji has been determined to keep abreast of state affairs by calling for briefings and updates from all heads of department and GLCs.

Among others, he has heard briefings from the Sabah Foundation, Sabah Credit Corporation, Sabah Energy and the Sabah Federal Development Office.

And at the top of his to-do list is to ensure all important positions in the government and agencies are promptly filled and helmed for the business of the day to proceed seamlessly.

At the grassroots level, the Sabah government appointed 44 community development leaders recently, with 29 more to be appointed, including community development officers and village security and development committee.