PETALING JAYA: Veteran Sabah politician Abdul Ghapur Salleh died just past midnight last night.
The former Sabah deputy chief minister and Kalabakan MP was 80.
Ghapur was the deputy chief minister in Sabah’s Barisan Nasional government from 1995 to 1997, and the Kalabakan MP from 2004 to 2018.
Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, the assistant minister to the chief minister, confirmed the Umno leader’s death to Berita Harian.
Nizam said he found out about Ghapur’s passing in a WhatsApp message from his son, Salleh.
Among those who took to social media to express their condolences to Ghapur’s family was former Sabah chief minister Salleh Said Keruak.
Former Kalabakan Wanita Umno chief Hamisah Samat described Ghapur as a “leader and a patriot who has contributed significantly” to the country.