KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno wants to hold talks with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) regarding the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections to be held next month.
Sabah Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Jafry Ariffin said: “The discussions are important since Umno is part of the coalition that forms the Sabah state unity government together with GRS.”
He said the party saw the need to reach a consensus with the Sabah state unity government before finalising the strategy for the two by-elections.
“We must discuss with the leadership of the Sabah state unity government to jointly find a way and solution regarding the Lamag and Kinabatangan by-elections,” said Jafry.
He added that Sabah Umno was now awaiting feedback from Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who is also GRS chairman, regarding the proposed talks.
Commenting on the party’s preparations for the by-elections, Jafry said the preliminary work has begun, including holding divisional committee meetings and engagement sessions with grassroots leadership in Lamag, Kuamut and Sukau.
“We have already received commitment from the grassroots level to continue the work to ensure that the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat and the Lamag state seat are won, if given the space and opportunity for us,” he said.
According to him, Sabah Umno in principle sees that Barisan Nasional should defend both seats based on the history and record of the incumbent, the late Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
Jafry said Kinabatangan Umno division had gathered grassroots views and prepared several potential names.
“The Kinabatangan division has heard the complaints, listened to the views from the grassroots and is ready to nominate some new faces and perhaps even the deceased’s children. But that is up to the leadership to decide,” he said, Bernama reported.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) has set the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections for Jan 24, 2026, respectively, with nominations on Jan 10 and early voting on Jan 20.
The by-elections need to be held following the death of the incumbent, Bung Moktar, on Dec 5 at a private hospital here.
EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said this at a press conference yesterday after chairing a special meeting at Menara SPR to discuss the dates for the by-elections. The budget for the two polls is RM10mil.
According to Ramlan, the campaign period for the by-elections is 14 days, starting after the declaration of candidates on Jan 10 until 11.59pm on Jan 23.
He also said applications for all categories of overseas and domestic postal voting for the by-elections opened online yesterday.
The deadline for postal voting applications is Jan 8 for Category 1A voters (election workers, EC members or officers, police, military personnel and media), and Jan 6 for Category 1B voters (Malaysian citizens residing overseas) and Category 1C voters (agencies or organisations).
Ramlan said Dewan Sri Lamag, Kinabatangan, will serve as the nomination centre and official vote-tallying centre.
The commission is also offering government agencies, non-governmental organisations or interested bodies to become election observers to monitor the process from nomination day until the announcement of results.
Voters can check their voting information via the EC portal, hotline or application, while information and application forms for observers can be obtained from www.spr.gov.my from now until Dec 31.
