The short answer
Sabah has had 15 different chief ministers across 16 administrations since 1963 because Fuad Stephens served twice. Hajiji Noor is the current officeholder at the October 2026 review date; the official chronology also records long PBS and BN eras and a six-leader rotation period after 1994.
Complete chronology
Every Sabah chief-ministerial term since 1963
Dates below reproduce the Sabah government’s published former-chief-ministers chronology. Some gaps reflect dissolution, caretaker or disputed-transition conventions explained later in this guide.
| Chief minister | Official date range | Political phase | Succession context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuad Stephens · first term | 16 Sep 1963–31 Dec 1964 | UNKO / Sabah Alliance | First chief minister at Malaysia’s formation |
| Peter Lo Sui Yin | 1 Jan 1965–10 May 1967 | Sabah Chinese Association / Alliance | Succeeded Stephens before first direct state election |
| Datu Mustapha Datu Harun | 11 May 1967–31 Oct 1975 | USNO / Alliance–BN | Began after 1967 election; succeeded by Said Keruak |
| Said Keruak | 1 Nov 1975–13 Apr 1976 | USNO / BN | Short transition before BERJAYA victory |
| Fuad Stephens · second term | 14 Apr–6 Jun 1976 | BERJAYA / BN | Returned after election; died in Double Six crash |
| Harris Salleh | 7 Jun 1976–15 Mar 1985 | BERJAYA / BN | Succeeded Stephens; government defeated by PBS |
| Joseph Pairin Kitingan | 22 Apr 1985–16 Mar 1994 | PBS | Won four state elections; lost majority after 1994 defections |
| Sakaran Dandai | 17 Mar–26 Dec 1994 | UMNO / BN | Formed government after PBS defections |
| Salleh Said Keruak | 27 Dec 1994–27 May 1996 | UMNO / BN | First full phase of BN rotation arrangement |
| Yong Teck Lee | 28 May 1996–27 May 1998 | SAPP / BN | Chinese-community phase of rotation |
| Bernard Dompok | 28 May 1998–14 Mar 1999 | PDS / BN | Non-Muslim-bumiputera phase of rotation |
| Osu Sukam | 15 Mar 1999–26 Mar 2001 | UMNO / BN | Rotation returned office to UMNO |
| Chong Kah Kiat | 27 Mar 2001–25 Mar 2003 | LDP / BN | Final chief minister under rotation system |
| Musa Aman | 27 Mar 2003–6 Apr 2018 · official archive range | UMNO / BN | Rotation ended; longest continuous official entry |
| Shafie Apdal | 12 May 2018–25 Sep 2020 | Warisan-led government | Formed post-election majority after 2018 contest |
| Hajiji Noor | 29 Sep 2020–present | GRS-led government | Appointed after 2020 election; second term from 2025 |
Chronology
A timeline of the turning points
Fuad Stephens becomes first chief minister
The office began when North Borneo became Sabah within the new Federation of Malaysia.
Peter Lo succeeds Stephens
The Sabah Chinese Association leader headed the state government until May 1967.
Datu Mustapha begins the USNO era
He served for more than eight years after Sabah’s first direct state election.
Rapid transition precedes BERJAYA rule
Said Keruak and Fuad Stephens led short administrations before Harris Salleh took office.
Fuad Stephens dies in the Double Six crash
His second term ended after only weeks, and Harris Salleh succeeded him the following day.
Joseph Pairin Kitingan begins PBS government
Pairin became chief minister after PBS defeated BERJAYA and served until March 1994.
Sakaran Dandai forms a BN government
Post-election defections ended the PBS administration despite its 25–23 victory.
Five leaders serve during the rotation period
Salleh Said Keruak, Yong Teck Lee, Bernard Dompok, Osu Sukam and Chong Kah Kiat followed Sakaran.
Musa Aman begins a long administration
The rotation arrangement ended and Musa became the longest-serving chief minister in the official chronology.
Shafie Apdal becomes chief minister
A post-election majority brought Warisan and its allies into state government.
Hajiji Noor takes office
He formed a GRS-aligned government after the 2020 state election and began a second term after the 2025 election.
Who is the current chief minister of Sabah?
Hajiji Noor is the current chief minister at this article’s 4 October 2026 review date. Sabah’s official cabinet archive records his first appointment from 29 September 2020.
He led the GRS-aligned government formed after the 2020 state election and was appointed for a second term on 30 November 2025 after GRS emerged as the largest bloc and assembled wider support.
The chief minister heads the state cabinet but remains accountable to confidence in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly. The office is appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri under the state constitution.
Who was Sabah’s first chief minister?
Fuad Stephens became the first chief minister on 16 September 1963, the day Malaysia was proclaimed. His first term lasted until the end of 1964.
He later returned for a second term on 14 April 1976 after BERJAYA defeated USNO. That administration ended on 6 June when Stephens and several colleagues died in the Double Six plane crash.
Because Stephens served twice, the official chronology contains 16 terms but only 15 different people. Counting officeholders and counting administrations therefore produces different totals.
Which leaders served the longest?
Musa Aman has the longest continuous entry in Sabah’s official chronology, beginning in March 2003 and extending to the 2018 transition. Joseph Pairin Kitingan served from April 1985 to March 1994.
Datu Mustapha Datu Harun also held office for more than eight years, from May 1967 to October 1975. These long administrations contrast with several transitions lasting less than two years.
Comparisons require care because the official archive sometimes marks dissolution or transition dates rather than presenting an unbroken caretaker timeline. This page reproduces its listed date ranges and explains notable gaps instead of silently rewriting them.
Why were there so many chief ministers after 1994?
After BN took control in March 1994, the coalition introduced a rotation arrangement intended to share the office among Muslim-bumiputera, Chinese and non-Muslim-bumiputera leaders.
Sakaran Dandai served first, followed by Salleh Said Keruak, Yong Teck Lee, Bernard Dompok, Osu Sukam and Chong Kah Kiat. The sequence produced frequent planned transfers rather than six separate election defeats.
The system ended in 2003 when Musa Aman became chief minister. His long tenure replaced rotation with a more conventional model in which the leader remained while retaining coalition and assembly support.
How did elections change the office?
Several major transfers followed election results: BERJAYA replaced USNO in 1976, PBS replaced BERJAYA in 1985, and Warisan-led support installed Shafie Apdal in 2018.
Other changes depended on post-election assembly arithmetic. PBS won in 1994 but lost its majority through defections; Sakaran then formed a BN government. In 2020, Hajiji assembled the support required after a close state result.
The person leading the largest party is therefore not automatically chief minister. The decisive constitutional question is who can command confidence in the elected assembly, subject to appointment by the head of state.
Why do some official date ranges have gaps?
Sabah’s official former-chief-ministers page is authoritative for the state’s own published chronology, but its dates do not always create a day-by-day chain. Harris Salleh’s entry ends before Pairin’s April 1985 appointment, for example.
The same pattern appears around the 2018 election, where the archive records Musa Aman through 6 April and Shafie Apdal from 12 May. Dissolution, caretaker government, disputed appointment and substantive tenure can be represented differently across sources.
This guide keeps the official date ranges in the table and uses the surrounding explanation to distinguish election, caretaker and appointment stages. That is more transparent than forcing every transition into a single unsupported date convention.
How is the chief minister different from the governor?
The chief minister is the political head of Sabah’s elected state government and chairs the cabinet. The office depends on legislative confidence and normally belongs to an elected assembly member.
The Yang di-Pertua Negeri is the appointed head of state. The governor appoints as chief minister the person judged likely to command majority confidence and performs other constitutional functions.
Confusing the two offices can distort Sabah’s transitions. Datu Mustapha, Fuad Stephens, Sakaran Dandai and others held different state roles at different points in their careers, so each title should be dated precisely.
Continue the chronology
Related history guides
The 2025 Sabah State Election
Follow the fragmented result and negotiations that produced Hajiji Noor’s second term.
Read the timeline26–29 September 2020The 2020 Sabah State Election
See how GRS’s 38-seat victory transferred the chief ministership from Shafie Apdal to Hajiji Noor.
Read the timeline9–12 May 2018The 2018 Sabah State Election
Follow the hung assembly, two appointments and transfer from Musa Aman to Shafie Apdal.
Read the timeline5 May 2013The 2013 Sabah State Election
Read how Musa Aman began another term after BN retained 48 of 60 seats.
Read the timeline8 March 2008The 2008 Sabah State Election
See how a second 59-seat BN victory consolidated Musa Aman’s long administration.
Read the timeline21 March 2004The 2004 Sabah State Election
Read how Musa Aman retained office after BN won 59 of the enlarged assembly’s 60 seats.
Read the timeline16 September 1963The Formation of Malaysia
Start with the constitutional transition that created the office.
Read the timeline20–21 April 1985The 1985 Sabah State Election
Read how Pairin replaced the BERJAYA administration.
Read the timelineFebruary–March 1994The 1994 Sabah Political Crisis
See why Sakaran replaced Pairin despite a PBS election win.
Read the timeline1994–2003Sabah’s Chief Minister Rotation System
Understand the planned two-year transfers among three community categories.
Read the timeline12–13 March 1999The 1999 Sabah State Election
Examine the result that ended Dompok’s term and installed Osu Sukam.
Read the timeline2020–presentGabungan Rakyat Sabah: History and Parties
Understand the coalition behind Hajiji’s current government.
Read the timelineBiography context
Explore Sabah, Malaysia through connected lives
Connected biographies
All fifteen Sabah chief ministers with source-led biographies
1955—
Hajiji Noor
Chief Minister of Sabah and Chairman of Gabungan Rakyat SabahThe long-serving Sulaman assemblyman who became Sabah chief minister in 2020 and won a second term at the 2025 state election.Read biography
1956—
Shafie Apdal
President of Parti Warisan and Member of Parliament for SempornaThe Semporna parliamentarian, former federal minister and Warisan founder who led Sabah from 2018 until the 2020 state election.Read biography
1940—
Joseph Pairin Kitingan
Founder of PBS and former Chief Minister of SabahThe lawyer and Kadazandusun leader who founded PBS, led four consecutive state-election victories and served as Sabah’s chief minister for nearly nine years.Read biography
1918—1995
Datu Mustapha Datu Harun
First Yang di-Pertua Negeri of SabahA Sabah formation-era leader who became the state’s first head of state, later served as chief minister and expanded education through the Sabah Foundation.Read biography
1920—1976
Fuad Stephens
First Chief Minister of SabahThe journalist and political leader who helped negotiate Sabah’s place in Malaysia, became the state’s first chief minister and later returned to the office in 1976.Read biography1930—
Harris Salleh
Former Chief Minister of SabahThe civil servant turned BERJAYA co-founder who governed Sabah for almost nine years before the 1985 PBS electoral upset.Read biography
1930—2021
Sakaran Dandai
Former Chief Minister and Yang di-Pertua Negeri of SabahThe Semporna political organiser who rose through USNO and UMNO to become chief minister in 1994 and governor from 1995 to 2002.Read biography
1923—2020
Peter Lo Sui Yin
Former Chief Minister of Sabah and lawyerSabah’s first locally born practising lawyer, who helped examine constitutional safeguards before Malaysia and led the state from 1965 to 1967.Read biography
1925—1995
Mohammad Said Keruak
Former Chief Minister and Yang di-Pertua Negeri of SabahThe Kota Belud USNO politician who briefly served as chief minister in 1975–1976 and returned as Sabah’s seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri.Read biography
1957—
Salleh Said Keruak
Former Chief Minister of Sabah and federal ministerThe Kota Belud politician who led Sabah from 1994 to 1996, later chaired the state assembly and joined the federal cabinet.Read biography1958—
Yong Teck Lee
President of the Sabah Progressive PartyThe lawyer and former PBS deputy leader who founded SAPP in 1994, led Sabah from 1996 to 1998 and later returned as a nominated assemblyman.Read biography
1949—
Bernard Dompok
Former Chief Minister of Sabah and Malaysian ambassadorThe land valuer turned political leader who served ten months as Sabah chief minister, led UPKO for two decades and later represented Malaysia at the Vatican.Read biography1949—
Osu Sukam
Former Chief Minister of SabahThe Papar politician and long-serving member of Parliament who led Sabah for two years after the 1999 state election.Read biography1947—
Chong Kah Kiat
Former Chief Minister of Sabah and lawyerThe Kudat lawyer who built LDP, served in the federal cabinet and led Sabah from 2001 until the rotation arrangement ended in 2003.Read biography
1951—
Musa Aman
Yang di-Pertua Negeri of SabahThe former Sungai Sibuga assemblyman who led Sabah for fifteen years, contested the 2018 transition and returned as Yang di-Pertua Negeri.Read biographyQuick answers
Common questions
- Who is the chief minister of Sabah in 2026?
- Hajiji Noor is the current chief minister at the 4 October 2026 review date.
- Who was the first chief minister of Sabah?
- Fuad Stephens became the first chief minister on 16 September 1963.
- How many people have served as Sabah chief minister?
- Fifteen different people are listed from 1963 through October 2026; Fuad Stephens served two separate terms, producing 16 administrations.
- Who served longest as Sabah chief minister?
- Musa Aman has the longest continuous term in the official chronology, beginning in March 2003 and extending to the 2018 transition.
- How long was Joseph Pairin Kitingan chief minister?
- The official Sabah list records his term from 22 April 1985 to 16 March 1994.
- Who became chief minister after Pairin?
- Sakaran Dandai began serving on 17 March 1994 after defections removed the PBS government’s majority.
- What was Sabah’s chief minister rotation system?
- It was a BN arrangement after 1994 that rotated the office among leaders from different community categories until 2003.
- Who appoints the Sabah chief minister?
- The Yang di-Pertua Negeri appoints the assembly member judged likely to command majority confidence.
- Has anyone served twice in non-consecutive terms?
- Yes. Fuad Stephens served from 1963 to 1964 and returned briefly in 1976.
Primary and institutional sources
How this history was checked
The Sabah government archive supplies the official list and date ranges; gazette and cabinet records establish the current officeholder; election and academic sources explain transfers that cannot be understood from dates alone. This article was reviewed on 4 October 2026.
- Government of SabahOfficial List of Sabah Chief Ministers
- Government of SabahCurrent Sabah State Cabinet
- Sabah State GazetteAppointment of Hajiji Noor as Chief Minister, 30 November 2025
- Sabah State Legislative AssemblyFirst Sitting and Sabah’s First Chief Minister
- IRASEC / Universiti Malaysia SarawakPolitical Development in Sabah, 1985–2010
- Kajian Malaysia, Universiti Sains MalaysiaPilihanraya Negeri Sabah 1994
- Election Commission of Malaysia, Sabah OfficeHistory of Elections in Sabah
- Wikimedia CommonsHajiji Noor Portrait and Public-Domain Record