Sabah polls: Upko, KDM, Star, independents crucial in state government formation, negotiations underway

LocalPolitics
29 Nov 2025 • 11:51 PM MYT
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THE United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO), Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) and the five winning independent candidates are expected to be decisive in the formation of the new Sabah government.

This is after two parties that have been competing neck to neck since the beginning, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Warisan have each failed to pass the simple majority of 37 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats.

It is understood that negotiations for the local Sabah parties and independent candidates are currently being held, but a no further details are available.

Earlier, Pakatan Harapan (PH) announced that it would form a state government with GRS after the coalition won 29 state seats, based on unofficial results as of 11pm.

Based on the unofficial results, GRS's closest challenge came from Warisan which won 21 seats, followed by 10 state seats won by Barisan Nasional (BN).

UPKO, KDM, STAR and independent candidates each collected 10 state seats, in addition to two state seats owned by PH, thus completing and exceeding the total of 37 seats to form a state government. - November 29, 2025