<figure id="attachment_3223117" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3223117" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3223117 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/9d459560-hajiji-bung-moktar-ewon-jeffrey-kitingan-salleh-pandikar-anifah-phoong-collage-291125.webp" alt="Hajiji, Bung Moktar, Ewon, Jeffrey Kitingan, Salleh, Pandikar, Anifah, Phoong," width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3223117" class="wp-caption-text">IN: Hajiji Noor, Bung Moktar Radin, Ewon Benedick, Jeffrey Kitingan, Salleh Said Keruak. OUT: Pandikar Amin Mulia, Anifah Aman, Phoong Jin Zhe.</figcaption></figure>
PETALING JAYA: Preliminary results of the Sabah polls show several bigwigs being defeated, while other heavyweights are on course to retain their seats for another term.
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Hajiji Noor and his Sabah Barisan Nasional counterpart Bung Moktar Radin are said to have achieved comfortable wins in Sulaman and Lamag, respectively.
Similarly, Upko president Ewon Benedick and former chief minister Salleh Said Keruak of BN are set to defend their Kadamaian and Usukan seats.
Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan retained his Tambunan seat, managing to be elected despite his party going solo following its withdrawal from GRS last month.
Former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, the Usno president, failed to win the Pintasan seat for GRS after a recount. This was Pandikar’s second attempt at contesting the seat. In 2020, he lost to Fairuz Renddan, then of Sabah Bersatu.
Pandikar’s wife Diana Diego @ Yusrina Sufiana was also defeated in Sekong by her rival from BN.
The biggest losers were the eight DAP candidates, most of whom lost to Warisan.
This included Sabah DAP chief Phoong Jin Zhe and his deputy, Chan Foong Hin, in Likas and Tanjung Aru, respectively.
Phoong was previously a state minister while Chan is the two-term Kota Kinabalu MP and deputy plantation and commodities minister.
Also defeated was DAP’s two-term Sandakan MP Vivian Wong in Elopura and former two-term Kapayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang, who failed to get a third term representing the constituency.
Former foreign minister Anifah Aman, the Parti Cinta Sabah president, lost in Bongawan at the second time of trying. He was defeated by his former protege, BN’s Mohamad Alamin, the current deputy foreign minister and Kimanis MP.

MatchPoint Times

Sabah bigwigs who are in and out, so far

Former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia failed to win in Pintasan at the second time of asking, as did former foreign minister Anifah Aman in Bongawan.

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