KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman Said Wednesday (19 Mar) it is up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to decide on the replacement for Datuk Anifah Aman who had turned down the Deputy Transport Minister's post.

"I believe whoever is chosen will help us in Sabah as in the past. Even if the deputy minister is not from Sabah, he or she can still help us," Bernama reports from Kota Kinabalu.

Anifah is one of the two deputy ministers who had declined to take up their appointments, claming they are "senior enough" tp be made full ministers. The other deputy minister is Datuk Seri Tengku Azlan Abu Bakar.

The report said the two Umno members of parliament met Abdullah Tuesday (18 Mar) after he announced the cabinet line-up, but were firmly told that he had picked the best people for the cabinet.

In the previous administration, Anifah was the deputy minister of plantation industries and commodities, while Tengku Azlan was deputy transport minister. Anifah is MP for Kimanis.