Datuk Seri Dr. Maximus J. Ongkili was born on 26 October
1953. He is married to Joan Maluda and they have 2 children.
Ongkili was appointed as a Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department with a specific role in promoting National Unity
and Integration in March 2004.
to the dissolution of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly,
Dr Ongkili, who is Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) deputy president,
was the Science and Technology Adviser to the Chief Minister.
entered politics during the PBS government era and made
his debut in the State Legislative Assembly in 1994 when
he contested and won in the then Langkon seat, defeating
Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Newman Gaban by a 2,719-vote
contested in the Bandau parliamentary seat in the 1995 general
election, beating the then BN candidate Datuk Dr Jeffrey
Kitingan by a majority of 4,865 votes.
won in the Tandek state seat and retained Bandau in the
1999 general election. He defended and won both seats in
the just-concluded general election.
was the PBS Secretary General in 1994 before being elected
to the present post as Deputy President. He also heads the
party's Research and Training Bureau and is the Chairman
of the Party Disciplinary Committee. At the Divisional level,
he heads the Tandek PBS Division.
Ongkili is a researcher by background having previously worked
as a university lecturer at the University Pertanian Malaysia
(now known as Universiti Putra Malaysia) and held senior research
positions with the Institute of Strategic and International
Studies (ISIS) Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and the Sabah Institute
for Development Studies (IDS).
Maximus Ongkili holds a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics
from La Trobe University, Australia and completed fellowship
and summer programmes at the United Nations University, Tokyo
and Harvard Institute for International Development, Boston.
is also an elected Vice-President of the Kadazan Dusun Cultural
Association, Sabah (KDCA).
his numerous contributions to the state, he was awarded the
second highest illustrious order Panglima Gemilang Darjah
Kinabalu (PGDK) which carries the title "Datuk"
by the Yang diPertua Negeri Sabah in 2002.
conjunction with the 71st birthday of Melaka Yang Dipertua
Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob on 10th October 2009, Dr. Maximus
was conferred Melaka's highest award, Darjah Gemilang Seri
Melaka (DGSM), which carries the title 'Datuk Seri'.