Kinabatangan, Lamag seats vacant, EC to meet Dec 16 on polls

The Election Commission (EC) confirmed today that it has received official vacancy notifications for the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state seats in Sabah, following the passing of incumbent representative Bung Moktar Radin.

EC secretary Khairul Shahril Idrus confirmed receiving notifications from Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul and Sabah legislative assembly speaker Kadzim Yahya.

“We received the notifications from Johari on Dec 8, and from Kadzim today. This comes after the incumbent, Bung, passed away.

“In line with Article 54(1) of the Federal Constitution and Article 21 (5) of the Sabah Constitution, the vacancies must be filled within 60 days of confirmation of vacancy.

“As such, the EC will have a special meeting on Dec 16, chaired by chairperson Ramlan Harun, to decide on when to hold the by-elections, nomination days, and other preparations to conduct the polls,” Khairul said in a statement today, adding that a press conference will be called after the meeting.

Passed less than a week after election

Bung, who was also the Sabah BN chief, died at the Gleneagles Hospital in Kota Kinabalu on Dec 5. He was 66.

He was admitted to the hospital a day earlier to receive treatment for complications involving his lungs, heart, and kidneys.

In the recently concluded Sabah election, Bung retained Lamag, winning by a mere 153 votes in a six-cornered contest.

In the 2022 general election, Bung retained the Kinabatangan seat after garnering 16,842 votes against Warisan’s 12,512.

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