Datuk Seri Panglima Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldest ...

Dr. Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

Maximus Johnity Ongkili (born 26 October 1953) is a Malaysian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who has served as Chairman of the Energy Commission of

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

(ECOS) since February 2023. He served as

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department is a member of Cabinet of Malaysia who administers a portfolio through the Prime Minister's Department. List of Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department The following individuals have been appo ...

for

and

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

Affairs for the second term in the

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 ...

(BN) administration under former Prime Minister

Ismail Sabri Yaakob Malay styles and titles#State titles, Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob ( ms, اسماعيل صبري بن يعقوب, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 18 January 1960) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian lawyer and poli ...

from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022, the first term in the

Perikatan Nasional The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbreviation, abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coa ...

(PN) administration under former Prime Minister

Muhyiddin Yassin Tan Sri Dato' Haji Mahiaddin bin Md Yasin (born 15 May 1947), commonly known as Muhyiddin bin Muhammad Yassin ( ms, محيي الدين بن محمد ياسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ), is a Malaysian politician who serv ...

from March 2020 to August 2021 as well as for National Unity and Integration in the

(BN) administration under former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from March 2004 to March 2008 and the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water in the BN administration under former Prime Minister Najib Razak from May 2013 to May 2018,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Kota Marudu from March 2004 to November 2022 and for

Bandau Bandau is a village and a former municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous cou ...

from April 1995 to March 2004. He is the 2nd President and a member of the

United Sabah Party The United Sabah Party ( ms, Parti Bersatu Sabah, abbreviated PBS) is a political party of Sabah. The PBS was founded by Joseph Pairin Kitingan in 1985 and it is Sabah's oldest local party. In August 2020, PBS confirmed that they would be usin ...

(PBS), a component party of the United Alliance and the ruling PN coalitions.

Personal life

Ongkili was born on 26 October 1953 in

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

but hails from the district of

Tambunan Tambunan ( ms, Pekan Tambunan) is the capital of the Tambunan District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,667 in 2010. It is located 80 kilometres east of the state capital, Kota Kinabalu ...

in the interior part of the state. He is married with two children and has a Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Economics, conferred by Australia's

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

. He is a Christian of Borneo Evangelical Church. Ongkili is the nephew of former

Deputy Chief Minister

Joseph Pairin Kitingan Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan (born 17 August 1940) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Sabah from April 1985 to March 1994 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Keningau from August 1986 to May ...

and Sabah Deputy Chief Minister II

Jeffrey Kitingan Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan (born 22 October 1948) is Malaysian politician. He served as the Deputy Chief Minister II of Sabah from 2020 to 2023 and State Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries since 2020 (also served in the same position for a ...

, who is the President of the

Homeland Solidarity Party Homeland Solidarity Party (STAR; ms, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku ) is a Sabah-based political party. The party was founded on 1 July 2016 by Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Jeffrey G. Kitingan. He is Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan's younger brothe ...

(STAR).

Political career

In the Opposition

Ongkili was originally an opposition politician but joined the government when the PBS joined the

(BN) coalition in 2002. In 1991, he was imprisoned under the

Internal Security Act Internal Security Act may refer to: * Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law *Internal Security Act (Singapore) * McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law *Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, rename ...

for 59 days. This was part of political arrests carried out between 1990 and 1991 to crack down on opposition leaders in Sabah, Malaysia, and their alleged plans to

secede Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

the state from Malaysia, allegedly known as Operation Talkak. Seven men were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). (See also

1991 Sabah political arrests Political arrests was carried out between 1990 and 1991 to crack down on opposition leaders in Sabah, Malaysia, and their alleged plans to secede the state from Malaysia, allegedly known as Operation Talkak. Seven men were detained under the Inte ...

). At the time of his arrest on 3 January 1991, Ongkili was a senior researcher and deputy chief director of IDS and electoral press consultant to then Chief Minister of

during the 1990 Sabah state and national elections. He was released unconditionally on 2 March.

In the Government

Ongkili entered Parliament in the 1995 general election (at the time, the Kota Marudu seat was named

). He was appointed as a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department after the 2004 election by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Ongkili was placed in charge of National Unity, and headed the initiation of the

Khidmat Negara The National Service Training Programme, or Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN), known locally as the ''Khidmat Negara'' ("National Service") was Malaysia's national service program under the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. The programme was ...

conscription program. Ongkili was also a member of the

Sabah State Legislative Assembly The Sabah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah, Kadazandusun: ''Langga' Tinukuan Pogun Sabah'') is a part of the legislature of Sabah, Malaysia, the other being the governor of Sabah. The assembly meets at the Sabah Sta ...

until the 2008 election, when he stood aside from his Tandek seat. In 2008, Ongkili became the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation. Then after his winning in the 2013 general election, Ongkili has been appointed as Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister.

Election results

Honours

* : **

Grand Commander of the Order of Malacca (DGSM) - Datuk Seri (2009) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - PGDK

Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(PGDK) - Datuk (2002) ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the

(SPDK) - Datuk Seri Panglima (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongkili, Maximus Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu 1953 births Malaysian Christians Government ministers of Malaysia Malaysian Protestants People from Sabah Living people Kadazan-Dusun people Members of the Dewan Rakyat United Sabah Party politicians La Trobe University alumni People from Kota Kinabalu Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu