BN retains Sabah with two-thirds majority

KOTA KINABALU: The Barisan Nasional has retained Sabah with a two-thirds majority by winning 48 of the 60 state seats in the 13th general election.

The state BN also won 22 of 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah to contribute to the formation of the BN government at the federal level.

Sabah BN chairman Musa Aman described the achievement as good and showed that Sabahans still accepted the BN as the ruling party.

“My colleagues and I were humbled by the support and encouragement given by Sabahans and the mandate would spur us to fulfil the needs of the people with a better service delivery,” he told reporters at Sri Gaya early today.

Commenting on BN’s failure to defend the Sandakan and Penampang parliamentary seats as well as the failure to seize the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat, Musa said despite the setbacks, he accepted the decision of the people with an open heart.

On Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) achievement in retaining the Keningau parliamentary seat and the Tambunan state seat, Musa said it showed that the Kadazandusun-Murut community still accepted Joseph Pairin Kitingan as their Huguan Siou or paramount chief.

He said overall, the state BN’s performance was still good as it was able to get a two-thirds majority despite losing several seats by a narrow margin.

Two BN bigwigs lost in the Penampang and Sandakan parliamentary seats.

They were Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok, who is also Upko president (Penampang), and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong who is also Liberal Democratic Party president (Sandakan).

-Bernama