Next Sabah state election

Next Sabah state election
← outgoing members
73 of 79 seats in the Legislative Assembly; 37 seats needed for a majority
Incumbent Chief Minister; Hajiji Noor; GRS-PGRS	; ;

The next Sabah state election, formally the 17th Sabah general election, will elect the 17th Sabah State Legislative Assembly. It must be held by 9 December 2025 at the latest, persuant to clause 21(4) of the Constitution of Sabah.^[1]^[2]^[3] This date is dependent on when the 16th Legislative Assembly first sits. All 73 seats will be up for contests, presuming no constituencies are added or removed in a redistribution.

Background

Traditionally, state elections are held simultaneously with the parliamentary election but each state can decide when to hold its election. This is because state assemblies are dissolved by their respective ruler or governor on the advice of the chief minister of the state.

With the formation of the unity government, every single party in Sabah is a part of that government. However at the state level, there are discrepancies whereby Warisan and Barisan Nasional are not a part of the coalition. Yet the present practice for the unity government would be that of a seat negotiation, or an unsigned electoral pact where no two parties would send candidates, only a single candidate would be sent from the unity government. It remains to be seen how at the state level such cooperation would play out.

Electoral system

Elections in Malaysia are conducted at the federal and state levels. Federal elections elect members of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state elections in each of the 13 states elect members of their respective state legislative assembly. As Malaysia follows the Westminster system of government, the head of government (Prime Minister at the federal level and the Menteri Besar/Chief Ministers/Premier at the state level) is the person who commands the confidence of the majority of members in the respective legislature – this is normally the leader of the party or coalition with the majority of seats in the legislature.

The Legislative Assembly consists of 73 members, known as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), that are elected for five-year terms. Each MLA is elected from a single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post voting system; each constituency contains approximately an equal number of voters. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the government, with its leader becoming the Chief Minister. In the event of a hung parliament, where no single party obtains the majority of seats, the government may still form through a coalition or a confidence and supply agreement with other parties. In practice, coalitions and alliances in Malaysia, and by extension, in Sabah, generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats.

The voting age is currently 18.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Department. Malaysia practices automatic voter registration but does not practice compulsory voting.

Preparations

On 27 March 2024, State Chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN) and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of Sabah Bung Moktar Radin dismissed the possibility of Sabah BN to work with GRS led by Chief Minister Hajiji Noor.

Candidates

No.	Parliamentary constituency	No.	State Constituency	Incumbent Member	Incumbent Coalition (Party)	Political coalitions and respective candidates and coalitions
						GRS		WARISAN		BN		PH		KDM		Others
						Candidate name	Party	Candidate name	Party	Candidate name	Party	Candidate name	Party	Candidate name	Party	Candidate name	Party
P167	Kudat	N01	Banggi	Mohammad Mohamarin	GRS (GAGASAN)				WARISAN
		N02	Bengkoka	Harun Durabi	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)				KDM
		N03	Pitas	Ruddy Awah	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
		N04	Tanjong Kapor	Ben Chong Chen Bin	GRS (GAGASAN)				WARISAN							Verdon Bahanda^[8]	Independent
P168	Kota Marudu	N05	Matunggong	Julita Majungki	GRS (PBS)		GRS (PBS)								KDM
		N06	Bandau	Wetrom Bahanda	KDM										KDM
		N07	Tandek	Hendrus Anding	GRS (PBS)		GRS (PBS)								KDM
P169	Kota Belud	N08	Pintasan	Fairuz Renddan	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
		N09	Tempasuk	Mohd Arsad Bistari	GRS (GAGASAN)						BN (UMNO)
		N10	Usukan	Salleh Said Keruak	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)				KDM
		N11	Kadamaian	Ewon Benedick	PH (UPKO)										KDM
P170	Tuaran	N12	Sulaman	Hajiji Noor	GRS (GAGASAN)
		N13	Pantai Dalit	Jasnih Daya	GRS (GAGASAN)						BN (UMNO)				KDM
		N14	Tamparuli	Jahid Jahim	GRS (PBS)		GRS (PBS)								KDM
		N15	Kiulu	Joniston Bangkuai	GRS (PBS)		GRS (PBS)								KDM
P171	Sepanggar	N16	Karambunai	Yakub Khan	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)
		N17	Darau	Azhar Matussin	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N18	Inanam	Peto Galim	PH (PKR)										KDM
P172	Kota Kinabalu	N19	Likas	Tan Lee Fatt	PH (DAP)				WARISAN
		N20	Api-Api	Christina Liew Chin Jin	PH (PKR)
		N21	Luyang	Ginger Phoong Jin Zhe	PH (DAP)				WARISAN
P173	Putatan	N22	Tanjung Aru	Junz Wong	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N23	Petagas	Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari	GRS (GAGASAN)				WARISAN
		N24	Tanjung Keramat	Shahelmey Yahya	BN (UMNO)					Jeffrey Nor Mohamed ^[9]	BN (UMNO)
P174	Penampang	N25	Kapayan	Jannie Lasimbang	PH (DAP)				WARISAN						KDM
P174	Penampang	N26	Moyog	Darell Leiking	WARISAN				WARISAN						KDM
P175	Papar	N27	Limbahau	Juil Nuatim	GRS				WARISAN						KDM
		N28	Kawang	Ghulam Haidar Khan Bahadar	GRS (GAGASAN)
		N29	Pantai Manis	Mohd Tamin Zainal	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)
P176	Kimanis	N30	Bongawan	Daud Yusof	WARISAN				WARISAN
P176	Kimanis	N31	Membakut	Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif	GRS (GAGASAN)
P177	Beaufort	N32	Klias	Isnin Aliasnih	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
P177	Beaufort	N33	Kuala Penyu	Limus Jury	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
P178	Sipitang	N34	Lumadan	Ruslan Muharam	GRS (PBS)		GRS (PBS)								KDM
P178	Sipitang	N35	Sindumin	Yusof Yacob	GRS (GAGASAN)				WARISAN						KDM
P179	Ranau	N36	Kundasang	Joachim Gunsalam	GRS (PBS)		GRS (PBS)								KDM
		N37	Karanaan	Masidi Manjun	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
		N38	Paginatan	Abidin Madingkir	GRS (STAR)		GRS (STAR)								KDM
P180	Keningau	N39	Tambunan	Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan	GRS (STAR)		GRS (STAR)								KDM
		N40	Bingkor	Robert Tawik	GRS (STAR)		GRS (STAR)								KDM
		N41	Liawan	Annuar Ayub Aman	GRS (STAR)		GRS (STAR)								KDM
P181	Tenom	N42	Melalap	Peter Anthony	KDM				WARISAN						KDM
P181	Tenom	N43	Kemabong	Rubin Balang	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
P182	Pensiangan	N44	Tulid	Flovia Ng	GRS (STAR)		GRS (STAR)								KDM
		N45	Sook	Ellron Alfred Angin	GRS (STAR)		GRS (STAR)								KDM
		N46	Nabawan	Abdul Ghani Mohamed Yassin	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
P183	Beluran	N47	Telupid	Jonnybone J. Kurum	GRS (PBS)		GRS (PBS)								KDM
		N48	Sugut	James Ratib	GRS (GAGASAN)						BN (UMNO)				KDM
		N49	Labuk	Samad Jambri	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
P184	Libaran	N50	Gum-Gum	Arunarsin Taib	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N51	Sungai Manila	Mokran Ingkat	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)
		N52	Sungai Sibuga	Mohamad Hamsan Awang Supain	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)
P185	Batu Sapi	N53	Sekong	Alias Sani	WARISAN				WARISAN
P185	Batu Sapi	N54	Karamunting	George Hiew Vun Zin	GRS (GAGASAN)				WARISAN
P186	Sandakan	N55	Elopura	Calvin Chong Ket Kiun	WARISAN				WARISAN
P186	Sandakan	N56	Tanjong Papat	Frankie Poon Ming Fung	PH (DAP)				WARISAN
P187	Kinabatangan	N57	Kuamut	Masiung Banah	GRS (GAGASAN)										KDM
		N58	Lamag	Bung Moktar Radin	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)				KDM
		N59	Sukau	Jafry Ariffin	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)
P188	Lahad Datu	N60	Tungku	Assaffal P. Alian	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N61	Segama	Mohammadin Ketapi	BN (UMNO)				WARISAN		BN (UMNO)
		N62	Silam	Dumi Pg. Masdal	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N63	Kunak	Norazlinah Arif	GRS (GAGASAN)				WARISAN
P189	Semporna	N64	Sulabayan	Jaujan Sambakong	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N65	Senallang	Shafie Apdal	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N66	Bugaya	Jamil Hamzah	WARISAN				WARISAN
P190	Tawau	N67	Balung	Hamid Awang	GRS (GAGASAN)						BN (UMNO)
		N68	Apas	Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan	GRS (GAGASAN)
		N69	Sri Tanjong	Justin Wong Yung Bin	WARISAN				WARISAN
P191	Kalabakan	N70	Kukusan	Rina Jainal	GRS (PHRS)				WARISAN
		N71	Tanjong Batu	Andi Muhammad Suryandy Bandy	BN (UMNO)						BN (UMNO)
		N72	Merotai	Sarifuddin Hata	WARISAN				WARISAN
		N73	Sebatik	Hassan A. Gani Pg. Amir	GRS (GAGASAN)				WARISAN

References

^ "Get ready for state election 'like it's tomorrow', Sabah Umno members told". The Star. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ "Warisan engages in talks with UMNO on potential pact for Sabah polls". focusmalaysia.my. 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ Abdullah, Izwan (2023-11-13). "Hajiji beri bayangan PRN Sabah mungkin diawalkan". Harian Metro. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
^ Nandini Balakrishnan (28 September 2016). "Here's The Fastest Way To Register As A Voter Before The Next Elections". Says.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018. Qualifications needed to register as a voter in Malaysia:
a) A Malaysian citizen above the age of 21.
b) A resident of an election constituency.
c) Is not disqualified by any laws.
^ "A Young Malaysian's Guide to the Election". Juice. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018. You are not eligible to register if you are:
a) on the qualifying date, you are serving jail term or detained as a person of unsound mind.
b) before the qualifying date, you have been convicted or sentenced to death or serving a jail term of more than 12 months and you're still liable on the qualifying date.
c) found guilty under the Election Offences Act, 1954.
d) have a foreign citizenship (Malaysian citizenship law does not permit a Malaysian to carry dual citizenship).
^ "Federal Gazette: Undi18, automatic voter registration to come into effect Dec 15 before Sabah polls". Borneo Post Online. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
^ "Undi18 to come into force Dec 15, but might still be too late for S'wak". Malaysiakini. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
^ www.astroawani.com https://www.astroawani.com/videos/awani-borneo-x7ko9t/verdon-tanding-dun-tanjong-kapor-atas-tiket-bebas-x97949g. Retrieved 2024-10-21. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ Reporters, F. M. T. (2024-10-26). "Bung mahu BN rampas kerusi Tanjung Keramat dari 'pengkhianat'". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 2024-10-26.

[1] "Get ready for state election 'like it's tomorrow', Sabah Umno members told". The Star. Retrieved 2023-09-06.

[2] "Warisan engages in talks with UMNO on potential pact for Sabah polls". focusmalaysia.my. 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-09-06.

[3] Abdullah, Izwan (2023-11-13). "Hajiji beri bayangan PRN Sabah mungkin diawalkan". Harian Metro. Retrieved 2023-11-18.

[4] Nandini Balakrishnan (28 September 2016). "Here's The Fastest Way To Register As A Voter Before The Next Elections". Says.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018. Qualifications needed to register as a voter in Malaysia:
a) A Malaysian citizen above the age of 21.
b) A resident of an election constituency.
c) Is not disqualified by any laws.

[5] "A Young Malaysian's Guide to the Election". Juice. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018. You are not eligible to register if you are:
a) on the qualifying date, you are serving jail term or detained as a person of unsound mind.
b) before the qualifying date, you have been convicted or sentenced to death or serving a jail term of more than 12 months and you're still liable on the qualifying date.
c) found guilty under the Election Offences Act, 1954.
d) have a foreign citizenship (Malaysian citizenship law does not permit a Malaysian to carry dual citizenship).

[6] "Federal Gazette: Undi18, automatic voter registration to come into effect Dec 15 before Sabah polls". Borneo Post Online. Retrieved 2021-12-01.

[7] "Undi18 to come into force Dec 15, but might still be too late for S'wak". Malaysiakini. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.

[8] www.astroawani.com https://www.astroawani.com/videos/awani-borneo-x7ko9t/verdon-tanding-dun-tanjong-kapor-atas-tiket-bebas-x97949g. Retrieved 2024-10-21. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[9] Reporters, F. M. T. (2024-10-26). "Bung mahu BN rampas kerusi Tanjung Keramat dari 'pengkhianat'". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 2024-10-26.

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v t e State elections in Malaysia
Overall results	1983 1985 1986 1987 1990 1991 1994 1995 1996 1999 2001 2004 2006 2008 2011 2013 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022 2023
Johor	1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
Kedah	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Kelantan	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Malacca	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2021
Negeri Sembilan	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Pahang	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
Penang	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Perak	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
Perlis	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022
Sabah	1964 (indirect) 1967 1971 1976 1981 1985 1986 1990 1994 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2020
Sarawak	1959 (indirect) 1963 (indirect) 1969 1974 1979 1983 1987 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021
Selangor	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Terengganu	1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2023
Singapore	1963

v t e Elections in Malaysia
Federal	1955 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 2013 2018 2022 Next
State	1954 1955 1959 (Malaya) 1959 (Sarawak) 1963 1964 1967 1969 1971 1974 1976 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1990 1991 1994 1995 1996 1999 2001 2004 2006 2008 2011 2013 2016 2018 2020 2021 2022 2023
Local	1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
See also: Federal by-elections State by-elections Elections in Johor Kedah Kelantan Kuala Lumpur Labuan Malacca Negeri Sembilan Pahang Penang Perak Perlis Putrajaya Sabah Sarawak Selangor Terengganu