Neck and neck in Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: Confirmed results for the Sabah state seats in the 14th general election as at 3.30am today showed State Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition were locked in a neck-and-neck race.
Sabah BN had won 27 while opposition parties led by Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, which were riding high on the tsunami for ‘Ubah’ (change) nationwide had won 28 seats of the 60 state seats.
The 28 opposition seats comprised Warisan (18), DAP (6), PKR (2) and STAR (2).
The opposition, meanwhile, won 15 (as of press time 2am) of the 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah, excluding Labuan.
Sabah BN coalition headed by State Umno chairman Tan Sri Musa Hj Aman had won 27 state seats (as at 3.30am).
In the last 13th GE, Sabah BN won 48 of the 60 state seats and 22 of the 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah.
Musa successfully defended his Sungai Sibuga seat in a threecornered fight with the majority of 2,184 votes.
Meanwhile, Musa’s son Yamani Hafez won with a slim 852-vote majority in Sipitang.
He garnered 12,038 votes against two opposition candidates Noor Hayaty Mustapha (Warisan) and Dayang Aezzy Liman (Harapan Rakyat) who got 11,186 votes and 1,547 votes respectively
However, the other BN heavyweights namely Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan who is Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk Teo Chee Kang lost in Tambunan and Tanjung Kapor.
Other BN senior leaders who also lost were Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah who failed to defend his Tanjung Papat seat, Sabah MCA chief Datuk Francis Goh also failed in his maiden contest in the election for the Kapayan seat.
The election also saw the defeat of all LDP candidates contesting in Sandakan parliamentary seat and four state seats.
Mohd Shafie who leads Warisan following his sacking as a vice president of Umno and from his federal ministry post defeated BN candidate Datuk Nasir Tun Sakaran (Umno) in the state seat of Senalang.
He garnered 7,754 votes against Nasir (2,454 votes) with a majority of 5,301 votes.
Mohd Shafie also retained the Semporna seat with a massive 26,809 votes to edge Datuk Ramlee Marahaban (Umno) with 6,135 votes while Abdul Nasir Ab Raup (PAS) and Asmara Asmad (HR) lost their deposits respectively.
STAR president Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan won the Tambunan seat with a majority of 1,037 votes after polling 6,316 while in the Keningau parliamentary seat, he garnered 13,286 votes for a slim majority of 45 votes.
Over in Kota Kinabalu, SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee along with BN’s Dr. Joseph Lee lost in the tussle for this predominantly Chinese seat which was successfully defended by DAP’s Chan Foong Hin. Another veteran politician Datuk Lajim Ukin, the president of Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, and seasoned politician Datuk Johan OT Ghani (PKR) gifted a victory to BN incumbent Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun for the Beaufort parliamentary seat. Azizah obtained 11,354 votes against Lajim (8,023) and Johan (7,835).
On the BN side, acting Upko president Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred M. Tangau successfully defended the Tuaran seat and the party also retained the Putatan seat through Datuk Marcus Mojigoh.
However, Upko lost the other parliamentary seats contested namely Penampang and Ranau.
Senior Upko leader Datuk Ewon Ebin failed to defend the Ranau seat which was won by PKR candidate Jonathan Yassin in a four-cornered fight.