Datuk Hj Juhar Hj Mahiruddin - will be the 10th Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sabah

(image ihsan dr pck g00gle......tq...)

Kota Kinabalu: The Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly,

Datuk Juhar Haji Mahiruddin, 57, will be the 10th Yang di-Pertua

Negeri Sabah, the Daily Express reliably learnt Tuesday.

He will receive the Instrument-of-Appointment as Sabah Head of

State from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara today.

However, he will not be sworn-in at the Istana Negeri here until

Jan. 1, 2011, as the term of the present Governor, Tun Ahmadshah

Abdullah, ends only on Dec. 31, 2010.

Upon being sworn-in as the new Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Juhar will

automatically receive the State's highest award, the Seri Panglima

Darjah Kinabalu (SPDK) which carries the title Datuk Seri Panglima.

Tun Ahmadshah will have served the maximum two terms or eight

years by the end of the year. Daily Express earlier reported that

former State Secretary Tan Sri Hamid Egoh and Juhar are the front

runners for the post.

Among those expected to witness the ceremony at the national palace

today are Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or his deputy,

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman, State Secretary

Datuk Sukarti Wakiman and Federal Ministers from Sabah.

The Yang di-Pertua Negeri is appointed by the King after consultation

with the Prime Minister to whom the Chief Minister would submit

normally more than one name.

Juhar was born on Nov. 5, 1953 on Tambisan island in Sandakan

where he attended primary school. He received his secondary

education at SMK Sandakan as well as Sabah College in Kota Kinabalu.

He then went for further studies in the United Kingdom where he

graduated with a B.A. (Hons) in Law and later became a Barrister-at-Law.

Upon returning to Sabah, he joined the judicial service and served as

First Class Magistrate in his hometown for two years beginning 1981.

He later left for private legal practice.

He joined politics in the mid-1980s and was made Political Secretary

to then Deputy Chief Minister, the late Datuk Mark Koding in 1986

under the PBS government. However, his tenure was shortlived after

his boss was sacked from the State Cabinet by then Chief Minister

Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1989.

Juhar contested the parliamentary seat of Kinabatangan on an Usno

ticket in the 1990 nationwide election and became the Deputy Speaker

of the Dewan Rakyat, the Lower House of Parliament after the election.

In the 1994 national election, he retained the Kinabatangan seat, this

time on an Umno ticket and was re-appointed Deputy Dewan Rakyat

Speaker until 1999 when he did not seek re-election as MP.

Continuing to be active in Sabah politics via his position as head of the

Batu Sapi Umno division, on Dec. 5, 2002 he was appointed Speaker

of the State Legislative Assembly, a post he held until this month.

Juhar is married to Datin Norlidah whose father Datuk RM Jasni was

himself a Senator (member of the Upper House of Parliament) once

during the Berjaya era. They have four children.

Juhar is also the elder brother of Dewan Negara (Senate) Deputy

President Datuk Armani Mahiruddin, who is also the Sabah Umno

Wanita Chief.

Just like his predecessor as State Speaker, Datuk Hassan Alban, Juhar

is a good musician and has his own band, some of whom are also Assembly

Members including Gum-Gum Assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Idris.

He is also an avid photographer.

Meanwhile, the Daily Express also understands that the most likely

person to replace Juhar as Speaker is former Chief Minister Datuk

Seri Panglima Salleh Tun Said.

Salleh is currently Science Adviser to the Chief Minister with ministerial

rank. He is also deputy head of Sabah Umno and head of the Kota Belud

Umno division.

Salleh was Chief Minister from 1995-6 after which he became Executive

Chairman of the Yayasan Bumiputra Sabah. Between 2001-2004, he was

Minister of Local Government and Housing. He did not contest in the last

election in 2008 and is, therefore, not an Assemblyman.

However, that is not a requisite for becoming the Speaker.

Previous Speaker during the PBS era, Datuk Pandikar Amin (now Tan Sri)

himself was appointed to the post after being made a Nominated

Assemblyman. The post of Nominated Assemblyman, a colonial legacy,

was discontinued after the Assembly was expanded from 48 seats to the

current 60 seats.

In terms of protocol, the Speaker is second only to the Chief Minister,

who in turn is second only to the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

Another possible candidate for the Speaker post is Deputy Chief Minister

Datuk Yahya Hussin, whom observers described as also apt because of his

legal qualification and background as a police officer.

The observers continued that Yahya is not required by law to vacate his

Petagas Assembly seat but in the event that he does, then the mostly likely

candidate in an ensuing by-election would be again Datuk Salleh who might

want to seek a return to the State Cabinet, being Umno's No. 2 man in Sabah.

n0te : inf0 cari kat g00gle......jumpa d SINI....