09/12/2025

TUESDAY | DEC 9, 2025

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Lamag must return to polls, says analyst

PETALING JAYA: Tensions within Bersatu flared after its Sabah secretary Yunus Nurdin blamed party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) defeat in the 17th Sabah state election, prompting Bersatu information chief Datuk Tun Faizal Ismail Aziz to call for leaders to wait for the official post-mortem before assigning responsibility. Tun Faizal said Yunus and others should not rush to conclusions, adding that a proper evaluation must first be presented by Sabah PN chairman Datuk Ronald Kiandee and party election director Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin. “As the state secretary, Yunus should instead assist in preparing the post-mortem report before it is presented to the PN Supreme Council and Bersatu Supreme Council, which are scheduled to meet next week,” he told theSun . Tun Faizal also rejected claims by Yunus and his group that Muhyiddin was responsible for Bersatu’s poor performance. He said many in the party believe accountability lies with Hamzah and Ronald due to their roles in managing preparations for the state election. He also said delays in finalising candidates also affected Bersatu’s prospects, adding that Muhyiddin received the party’s complete candidate list only on the night of the announcement. “This is one of the issues we have recorded. There should have been a dedicated candidate selection committee responsible for this. “The process and procedures for candidate selection must be reported to the PN Supreme Council and Bersatu Supreme Council. “From the beginning, all planning and management for the election were under the responsibility of the Sabah PN chairman and the Sabah election director. It is their duty to report the post-mortem findings.” The media reported on Dec 3 that Sabah Bersatu urged Muhyiddin to resign as party president and PN chairman following the defeat of the coalition in the Sabah election. The call was made by Yunus, who appeared at a press conference with several division heads, defeated candidates and party wing leaders. However, a day later, eight Sabah Bersatu division chiefs defended Muhyiddin, insisting that responsibility for the coalition’s performance rested with Ronald and Hamzah, not the party president. The division chiefs included Ahmad Ali Akbar Khan Gulan (Lahad Datu), Jupri Omar (Kota Belud), Faizal Julaili (Papar), Ekbal Khalid (Kalabakan), Abidin Sahat (Ranau), Amat Yusof (Kimanis), Mazmin Mazin (Kinabatangan) and Ramli AG Said (Sipitang). They said Ronald and Hamzah were the individuals overseeing preparations, strategy and decision making for Bersatu and PN during the state election. In the Nov 29 polls, PN secured only one win out of the 41 seats it contested. The coalition’s sole victory came from PAS candidate Datuk Dr Aliakbar Gulasan in Karambunai, while all 30 Bersatu candidates lost their respective races. – By Ikhwan Zulkaflee ‘Proper evaluation of loss needed’

cultivating local support. “Some PN candidates were only informed they were contesting on the very night the candidate list was finalised. So, effectively, they had only two weeks of the official campaign period to introduce themselves.” He added that the timeframe was expected to repair PN’s “damaged brand” in Sabah while promoting late-entry candidates, a task he labelled “impossible”. “Logically, that cannot be achieved. Not when the campaign machinery is already under strain.” He also said PN further weakened its position by contesting 42 seats, stretching its resources and logistics beyond practical limits. “They went into battle against two better-resourced machines, the federal government and the state government, without any electoral arrangement.” He said this time, three-cornered and four-cornered contests became standard. “PN failed to position itself competitively against GRS, BN and Warisan. As a result, it ended up as the weakest performer.” He also criticised the absence of early groundwork, seat popularity studies and candidate profiling. “They did not identify strategic seats or prepare candidates early. “From what I observed in a previous podcast, PN’s internal conflicts overshadowed preparations for the Sabah (polls). Their focus was more on internal polemics than electoral strategy.” In the 17th Sabah state election, Bersatu, contesting under the PN banner, lost in all 33 seats it contested. PN component party Gerakan was defeated in all three of its seats, while PAS secured one win out of the five seats it contested. – By Ikhwan Zulkaflee Bung Moktar, who was also the Kinabatangan MP, died just days after the 17th Sabah state election, during which he defended his Lamag seat at the age of 66. His son, Naim Kurniawan Moktar, confirmed his passing in a Facebook post, saying Bung died at 1.46am on Dec 5 following complications from a severe lung infection and kidney failure. Under Article 54 of the Federal Constitution, any parliamentary vacancy must be filled within 60 days from the date it is officially declared vacant by the EC. A by-election is not required if the vacancy occurs less than two years before Parliament’s five-year term expires. The current parliamentary term began after the Nov 19, 2022 general election and ends on Dec 19, 2027, meaning the two-year cut off has not been reached. However, even when less than two years remain, a by-election must still be called if the vacancy affects the numerical strength of the government in the Dewan Rakyat.

the winner has yet to be sworn in is not only legally flawed but also democratically dangerous. He added that the oath-taking ceremony is an administrative step and not what confers legitimacy on an elected representative. “Whether the elected representative has taken the oath or not does not change the fact that he was duly elected. “If a vacancy arises afterwards, the law triggers a by-election. The oath is not what gives him legitimacy, the voters do.”

o ‘Once vacancy confirmed, EC is legally bound to call by-election’

Ű BY IKHWAN ZULKAFLEE newsdesk@thesundaily.com

“A fresh mandate from the voters is required. That is what the law demands,” he told theSun via WhatsApp. He said the Election Act 1958 contains no provision that allows the second-highest vote-getter to automatically inherit the seat, adding that the idea is inconsistent with Malaysia’s first-past-the-post system. “This is not permitted under electoral law. “The legal framework only provides for two things; the declaration of a vacancy and the requirement to hold a by-election.” Manimaran said any suggestion that the losing candidate should be awarded the seat simply because

PETALING JAYA: Election analyst Dr G. Manimaran said the Lamag state seat must return to the polls following the death of its incumbent Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, adding that there is no room for legal improvisation. He said the law is unequivocal: Once a vacancy is confirmed, whether or not the elected representative has been sworn in, the Election Commission (EC) is legally bound to call a by-election. He also said the electoral framework leaves no space for creative interpretations or political shortcuts.

He also said the constitutional responsibility of the EC is clear-cut, adding that once the speaker officially notifies the commission of a vacancy, the commission must fix an election date within the stipulated time frame. “This is not a discretionary matter. It is a legal obligation. “The EC must act once a vacancy is formally declared.” Bersatu defeat in Sabah result of flawed strategy: Think tank PETALING JAYA: Independent Because Bung Moktar died only days before the point at which a by-election could legally be bypassed, his passing effectively locks in the requirement for a parliamentary by-election in Kinabatangan.

“When we examined our Sabah field data, we found that this was a critical mistake,” he told theSun . He said a survey conducted by Ilham Centre showed a clear voting pattern in Sabah; about 60% of voters made their choices based on the credibility and performance of individual candidates, while 20% voted on issues and the remaining 20% on party identity. “This shows candidate evaluation is the most influential factor.” He added that because of this, PN’s strategy was fundamentally flawed, adding that many of its candidates were unknown to the electorate and were introduced too late in the campaign cycle.

“Sabah voters expect to see individuals who have been working on the ground well in advance. By the time PN entered the race, they were already behind everyone else.” He also said PN should have reorganised immediately after the mass resignation of Sabah Bersatu leaders in December 2022. “Sabah PN chairman Datuk Ronald Kiandee should have restructured the party early on. But preparation only began two months before the election.” Hisommudin said two months was “far too short” to build credibility in a political environment in which even independent candidates had spent more than two years

research firm Ilham Centre said Bersatu’s wipe-out in Sabah was the inevitable result of a fatally flawed campaign strategy, adding that the party entered the state polls with unknown candidates, no machinery and almost no time to build credibility. Its executive director Hisommudin Bakar described the Perikatan Nasional (PN) campaign as one of the coalition’s gravest electoral miscalculations. He said Bersatu and PN entered the polls from a weak position, fielding largely unknown candidates in constituencies in which the coalition had no established grassroots presence.

Hisommudin said many PN candidates were unknown to the electorate and introduced too late in the campaign cycle. – ADIB RAWI YAHYA/THESUN