PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional has retained the Lamag state seat in Sabah after its candidate, Ismail Ayob, won the by-election with a 5,681-vote majority in a straight fight against Warisan’s Mazliwati Abdul Malek.
This was a huge increase over the majority of 153 votes secured by the party in the November state election.
Ismail secured 7,269 votes against 1,588 votes garnered by Mazliwati, Bernama reported.
The results were announced by returning officer Eddy Syaizul Rizam Abdullah tonight.
The by-election was triggered by the death of the incumbent, Bung Moktar Radin, 66, in early December.
Bung had defended the seat by a 153-vote majority just days before his death.
He had previously won the seat in the 2020 state polls with a 661-vote majority in a five-cornered contest.
Earlier this evening, Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh declared that BN had retained the seat, along with the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat, which Bung had served for six terms.
