He was elected a Member of the Sabah Legislative Assembly for the Tambunan electorate in 1976 under the BERJAYA party ticket, a party which was led by Harris Salleh (Chief Minister 1976-1985) and was appointed as a Minister in the cabinet of the ruling party.
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Ongkili is the nephew of current Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah Joseph Pairin Kitingan and Jeffrey Kitingan, who is a former vice president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.