(AFP) Former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee who was ordered to quit his state assembly seat because of electoral fraud will again contest the seat in a by-election this month, it was announced today.

Sabah Progressive Party president Yong had to vacate his seat in the Likas constituency in Sabah state on Borneo island after a court ruled last month that he won it in 1999 with the help of "phantom voters".

Sabah chief minister Chong Kah Kiat said Yong would once again stand for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in a by-election set for July 21.

"We felt that injustice has been done to him and that he is perfectly eligible and that he is the best candidate for (the coalition) in Likas," Chong was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has endorsed Yong's candidacy, he added.

Large majority

Yong won Likas in the March 1999 state elections with a large majority of 4,962 votes.

But high court judge Muhammad Kamil Awang on June 8 ruled that the Likas electoral roll was illegal and that he was convinced of the existence of phantom (non-existent) voters in the constituency.

Sabah's population of some three million includes an estimated 500,000 immigrants, mainly from neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines.

Muhammad ruled that Yong committed offences under election legislation but the Kota Kinabalu High Court granted Yong a stay of execution over the judgement, clearing the way for him to recontest the Likas seat.