KUALA LUMPUR — Perikatan Nasional (PN) has confirmed that it will not field candidates for the upcoming Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections in Sabah.
Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, PAS deputy president, made the announcement following the PN Supreme Council’s meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. He shared the news with the media after attending a session of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly at Wisma Sri Pahang today, Bernama reported.
The Election Commission (EC) secretary, Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus, revealed that a special EC meeting will be convened on December 16 to set the key dates for the by-elections. This decision comes after the sudden vacancies in both seats, which were caused by the death of Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin on December 5.
Bung Moktar, 66, passed away at 1:46 a.m. at a private hospital in Kota Kinabalu. His death occurred less than a week after his re-election to the Lamag state assembly for a second term.
During the 17th Sabah State Election on November 29, Bung Moktar, who was also the Sabah Barisan Nasional chairman, secured a narrow victory in Lamag, retaining the seat with a 153-vote majority in a six-cornered contest.
Bung Moktar’s political career also spanned national politics, where he had been the Kinabatangan Member of Parliament since the 10th General Election in November 1999, serving for six consecutive terms. – December 10, 2025