UMNO Sabah will determine the candidates for the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat and the Lamag state assembly seat in the forthcoming by-elections, party leaders have confirmed, following the death of Bung Moktar Radin on 5 December.

Ahmad Maslan, a member of UMNO’s Supreme Council, emphasised that while multiple names have been suggested, the primary objective is to ensure that UMNO and Barisan Nasional retain both constituencies.

“What is important for me is that BN must win both seats. Therefore, we need to put forward the best candidate, someone well-known to voters in the expansive Kinabatangan parliamentary area.

“Just leave it to the new Sabah Umno chief, Jafry Ariffin,” he said in Pontian yesterday, noting that Kinabatangan is a particularly challenging constituency due to its size, which he described as nearly equivalent to the state of Pahang and comprising three state assembly seats: Kuamut, Sukau, and Lamag.

The move comes after the Election Commission announced a special meeting to address the sudden vacancies in Kinabatangan and Lamag.

Bung Moktar, who passed away at the age of 66, had defended the Lamag state seat in the 17th Sabah State Election by a slim majority of 153 votes and had held the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat for six terms.