Ewon Benedick | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).png) Ewon Benedick in 2023 | |
| Deputy Chief Minister III of Sabah | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2025 Serving with
| |
| Governor | Musa Aman |
| Chief Minister | Hajiji Noor |
| Preceded by | Shahelmey Yahya |
| Constituency | Kadamaian |
| State Minister of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship, and Transport of Sabah | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2025 | |
| Governor | Musa Aman |
| Chief Minister | Hajiji Noor |
| Assistant | Jonnybone J Kurum |
| Preceded by | Phoong Jin Zhe(as Minister of Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship) |
| Constituency | Kadamaian |
| Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development | |
| In office 3 December 2022 – 1 December 2025 | |
| Monarchs | Abdullah (2022–2024) Ibrahim (2024-2025) |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Deputy | Saraswathy Kandasami (2022–2023) Ramanan Ramakrishnan (2023–2025) |
| Preceded by | Noh Omar |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Nanta Linggi(acting) Steven Sim Chee Keong |
| Constituency | Penampang |
| State Minister of Rural Development of Sabah | |
| In office 16 May 2018 – 29 September 2020 | |
| Governor | Juhar Mahiruddin |
| Chief Minister | Shafie Apdal |
| Assistants | Rasinin Kautis & Dumi Pg Masdal |
| Preceded by | Ellron Alfred Angin |
| Succeeded by | Jahid Jahim |
| Constituency | Kadamaian |
| Member of theMalaysian Parliament forPenampang | |
| Assumed office 19 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Darell Leiking (WARISAN) |
| Majority | 14,410 (2022) |
| Member of theSabah State Legislative Assembly forKadamaian | |
| Assumed office 9 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Jeremy Ukoh Malajad (Independent) |
| Majority | 3,294 (2018) 3,459 (2020) 9,672 (2025) |
| 3rd President of the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation | |
| Assumed office 15 January 2023 | |
| Deputy | Donald Peter Mojuntin |
| Preceded by | Wilfred Madius Tangau |
| 2nd State Chairman of Pakatan Harapan ofSabah | |
| In office 1 December 2024 – 10 November 2025 | |
| National Chairman | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Preceded by | Christina Liew Chin Jin |
| Succeeded by | Mustapha Sakmud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ewon Benedick (1983-08-01)1 August 1983 (age 42) |
| Nationality |  Malaysia |
| Party | United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) |
| Other political affiliations | Barisan Nasional (BN) (until 2018)  Pakatan Harapan (PH)(2021–2025) |
| Spouse | Connie Parantis |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | SM St. Michael, Penampang |
| Alma mater | Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka |
| Occupation | Politician |
Ewon Benedick (born 1 August 1983) is aMalaysianpolitician who has served asDeputy Chief Minister III of Sabah andState Minister of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship, and Transport of Sabah since December 2025, as well asMember of Parliament (MP) forPenampang since 2022 and Member of theSabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) forKadamaian since 2018. A president of theUnited Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) since 2023, Ewon served as the Chairman ofPakatan Harapan ofSabah from 2024 until 2025.
He served asMinister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development underPrime MinisterAnwar Ibrahim from 2022 until his resignation in 2025, and was theState Minister of Rural Development of Sabah under Chief MinisterShafie Apdal from 2018 to 2020.
Ewon Benedick made his electoral debut in the2018 Sabah state election and contested in the state constituency ofKadamaian and managed to regain the seat which had been won byParti Keadilan Rakyat in the2013 general election.
Following theUnited Progressive Kinabalu Organisation's (UPKO) decision to quitBarisan Nasional in the aftermath of2018 general election and align withWARISAN andPakatan Harapan (PH), Ewon was appointed the State Minister of Rural Development of Sabah. Following the collapse of the WARISAN-led government in 2020, a snap election was held, where he defended his seat despite a poor showing by UPKO; he became the party's sole state legislative assemblyman.
In the2022 general election, Ewon contested against incumbentDarell Leiking in the federal parliamentary seat ofPenampang and overturned a 23,473 majority. He was subsequently appointedMinister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development in theAnwar Ibrahim cabinet.
On 14 January 2023, Ewon took over the presidency ofUnited Progressive Kinabalu Organisation.
On 8 November 2025, Ewon announced his resignation from the cabinet over what he described as theAttorney General's Chambers "disregard' for Sabah's entitlement to 40% of federal revenue collected from the state under the constitution. This followed a court ruling which had affirmed that the federal government had been acting unlawfully for the previous 50 years by failing to pay the state the necessary amount. It was later reveal by Communications MinisterFahmi Fadzil that Ewon was still on leave for the Sabah election campaign and his swearing-in as Deputy Chief Minister III supersede his official date of resignation, thus his federal cabinet position eventually ended.[1][2]
Political analysts have described Ewon's resignation as a calculated move ahead of the2025 Sabah state election meant to reaffirm UPKO's image as a party serving Sabahan interests.[3]
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | N07Kadamaian | Ewon Benedick (UPKO) | 6,861 | 47.80% | Lukia Indan (PKR) | 3,567 | 24.86% | 14,712 | 3,294 | 72.10% | ||
| Rubbin Guribah (STAR) | 3,034 | 21.14% | ||||||||||
| Mail Balinu (PCS) | 764 | 5.32% | ||||||||||
| Satail Majungkat (PAS) | 129 | 0.88% | ||||||||||
| 2020 | N11Kadamaian | Ewon Benedick (UPKO) | 6,823 | 51.07% | Demis Rumanti (PBS) | 3,364 | 25.18% | 13,360 | 3,459 | 74.35% | ||
| Duanis Mogirong (PBRS) | 2,050 | 15.34% | ||||||||||
| Joshua Betting Giling (PCS) | 799 | 5.98% | ||||||||||
| Ernest Leduning Lengik (LDP) | 223 | 1.67% | ||||||||||
| Mohd Farhan Raiting (IND) | 101 | 0.76% | ||||||||||
| 2025 | Ewon Benedick (UPKO) | 11,977 | 65.60% | Mudezam Muyau @ James Muyou (PBS) | 2,305 | 12.62% | 18,469 | 9,672 | 70.48% | |||
| Norman Simon (WARISAN) | 2,222 | 12.17% | ||||||||||
| Davylandon Rubbin (STAR) | 981 | 5.37% | ||||||||||
| Josely Taising (KDM) | 564 | 3.09% | ||||||||||
| Judin Tingih (PBM) | 84 | 0.46% | ||||||||||
| Daibi Mandadi (IMPIAN) | 74 | 0.41% | ||||||||||
| Priskila Akwila Senim (ANAK NEGERI) | 52 | 0.28% | ||||||||||
| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | P174Penampang | Ewon Benedick (UPKO) | 29,066 | 57.30% | Darell Leiking (WARISAN) | 14,656 | 28.89% | 50,730 | 14,410 | 65.70% | ||
| Kenny Chua Teck Ho (STAR) | 6,719 | 13.24% | ||||||||||
| Richard Jimmy (IND) | 289 | 0.57% | ||||||||||
Malaysia
Recipient of the17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2025)
Sabah
Commander of theOrder of Kinabalu (PGDK) –Datuk (2018)[7]
Companion of theOrder of Kinabalu (ASDK) (2016)[8] Star of theOrder of Kinabalu (BK) (2010)[9].jpg)