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THERE have been no discussions on who will be nominated as Sabah’s next Chief Minister, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate and Lamag incumbent Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said, insisting that any decision will only be made after the election results are known.
“There are no discussions. We will see which party wins big. I think his chances of becoming Chief Minister are indeed high,” he said. Bung Moktar was speaking to reporters after launching BN’s election machinery for the Lamag and Sukau constituencies on Saturday.
The Kinabatangan MP also underscored the importance of a solid working relationship between the state and federal governments to ensure continued development in Sabah. He warned that any state lacking cooperation with Putrajaya would struggle to secure and implement development projects.
Turning to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), he said negotiations remained essential despite court decisions already in place. He added that the post-election government would need to resume discussions with the federal administration to coordinate payments and assessments related to the agreement.
“That is why alignment between state and federal leaders is needed to ensure smooth development. If there is no alignment, the Federal Government will be reluctant. Even if a decision has been made, it will not want to negotiate because it disagrees with the state government. This can become a major obstacle to development,” he said.
Commenting on BN’s decision not to field a candidate in Kuamut, he said the choice was made after considering the circumstances on the ground. “The situation there is very difficult at the moment. So we are giving the opportunity to other parties to contest. We will see which party we will support in Kuamut,” he added.
Bung Moktar will defend the Lamag seat against five challengers from GRS, Parti Impian Sabah (PIS), Warisan, Perikatan Nasional (PN) and an independent candidate. He won the seat in PRN16 in a five-way contest with 3,035 votes and a narrow majority of 661. Lamag, one of 13 new seats introduced in 2020, has 13,859 registered voters.
Separately, in TUARAN, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor warned that firm action would be taken against any member of its component parties who contests as an independent in the state election.
Hajiji, who is also President of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), said such actions risk creating clashes either with PGRS candidates or with other GRS component parties.
“For friendly contests between parties, we can accept that. But for PGRS and GRS members who stand as independents, we will take action to expel them from the party. This is something we cannot tolerate,” he said after nomination proceedings for the Sulaman, Pantai Dalit, Kiulu and Tamparuli seats.
Hajiji is facing a five-cornered contest in Sulaman, challenged by BN’s Dr Shahnon Rizal Thaijuddin, Mokhtar Hussin of Warisan, Tiaminah @ Siti Aminah Ele of PN, and Pajudin Nordin of Parti Impian Sabah. He retained the seat in the previous election with a majority of 3,099 in a three-way race. November 15, 2025