Darell – From MP to minister
KOTA KINABALU: After becoming an opposition MP for one term, Ignatius Dorell Leiking or fondly known as Darell Leiking could not only breathe a sigh of relief after being re-elected as MP but the change of government has given him the opportunity to be appointed as a member of the new Federal Cabinet.
Appointed as the International Trade and Industry Minister under the administration of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Leiking, 47, who is a lawyer, has succeeded in defending the Penampang parliamentary seat on a Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) ticket in a four-cornered fight in the 14th General Election (GE14).
In GE13, Leiking won the seat on a PKR ticket after defeating Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok, who won the seat three times in 1986, 1990 and 2008.
In 2016, Leiking, quit PKR to join former Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal’s new Sabah-based party, Warisan.
While in PKR, he held the position of deputy secretarygeneral and Penampang PKR branch chief.
Leiking was born in Penampang on Aug 23, 1971. He is the son of former Inanam assemblyman Datuk Marcel Leiking.
He is a barrister-at-law from Lincoln’s Inn, London and pursued law at University of Hertfordshire.
He works as a lawyer from 1994.
Leiking is also Warisan deputy president. - Bernama