2026 Kinabatangan by-election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 January 2026
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
P187 Kinabatangan seat in the Dewan Rakyat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 50.37% (as 3 p.m.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
By-elections in Kinabatangan are scheduled to be held on 24 January 2026 for the Dewan Rakyat seat of Kinabatangan. It was called following the death of Bung Moktar Radin on 5 December 2025.[1] Bung served as the Kinabatangan MP from 1999. The by-election is held concurrently with the 2026 Lamag by-election, the state seat Bung held.
The election is the fourth federal by-election since GE15 and part of the second set of by-elections where an incumbent death led to simultaneous by-elections in both parliamentary and state constituencies since Pulai and Simpang Jeram in 2023.[note 1]
Kinbatangan is a Sabah Bumiputera-majority seat comprising 65.0% of the overall voters, followed by 27.6% Malay-Muslim Bumiputera, 5.40% of other ethnicities and 2.0% Chinese.
Bung Moktar died on 5 December 2025 at Kota Kinabalu Gleneagles Hospital,[2] after being hospitalized for kidney failure and a lung infection.[3]
Nomination
On 19 December 2025, Barisan Nasional named Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar, the son of Bung Mokhtar, as their candidate for the seat.[4] Warisan nominated former Sukau assemblyman Saddi Abdul Rahman as their candidate on 5 January 2026.[5] Three days later, lawyer Goldam Hamid announced his intention of running as independent.[6]
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah announced it would not contest the seat out of respect for Bung.[7] Perikatan Nasional similarly also decided not to contest both the Kinabatangan and Lamag seats.[8]
Timeline
The key dates are listed below.[9]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 5 December 2025 | Bung Moktar Radin died in office as the Kinabatangan MP |
| 16 December 2025 | Issue of the Writ of Election |
| 10 January 2026 | Nomination Day |
| 10 - 23 January 2026 | Campaigning Period |
| 20 - 23 January 2026 | Early Polling Day For Postal, Overseas and Advance Voters |
| 24 January 2026 | Polling Day |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BN | Naim Kurniawan Moktar | 19,852 | 75.09 |  17.66 | ||
| Heritage | Saddi Abdul Rahman | 5,638 | 21.33 |  21.29 | ||
| Independent | Goldam Hamid | 946 | 3.58 | 3.58 | ||
| Total valid votes | 26,436 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 369 | |||||
| Unreturned ballots | 22 | |||||
| Turnout | 26,827 | 55.06 | 10.50 | |||
| Registered electors | 48,722 | |||||
| Majority | 14,214 | 53.76 | 38.95 | |||
| BN hold | Swing | |||||
