KOTA KINABALU: Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has filed an election petition challenging the outcome of the 2025 Sabah Election for the Pintasan constituency, which was won by independent candidate Datuk Fairuz Renddan.
In the petition filed on Dec 22, he named Fairuz, Pintasan returning officer Peter Jiton and the Election Commission as respondents.
The former Parliament speaker, 70, alleged there were breaches of the Election Offences Act 1954 and is seeking a court declaration that the Nov 29, 2025 election is void and for him to be declared the rightful winner.
Pandikar is relying on the testimony of a 23-year-old female voter who was at a political party camp in Pintasan on Nov 23, who claimed she saw Fairuz approach another woman and hand her an envelope containing RM100.
The female voter also recorded a video of the act on her mobile phone and lodged a police report on Dec 2 at the Kota Belud police station after the woman who received the envelope lodged a similar report.
Pandikar claimed that this amounts to bribery.
The United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) president contested the Pintasan seat on a Gabungan Rakyat Sabah ticket, receiving 3,605 votes.
Fairuz won the 11-cornered contest with 4,675 votes.
Pandikar had previously filed an election petition after the 2020 Sabah polls but was unsuccessful and Fairuz continued to serve as Pintasan assemblyman.
