Sabah Barisan Nasional chairman and Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin has died at the age of 66.
His son, Naim Kurniawan Moktar, announced the news in a Facebook post early Thursday, saying Bung Moktar “breathed his last on Dec 5, 2026, at 1.46am”.
“Please pray that his soul is blessed and placed among the faithful. Al-Fatihah,” he wrote.
Bung Moktar had been admitted to a private hospital for a severe lung infection, and his condition worsened following kidney complications, family members said.
His passing comes just six days after he defended his Lamag state seat in the Nov 29 Sabah election.
According to aides, the six-term Kinabatangan MP fell ill shortly after filing his nomination papers on Nov 15. He was hospitalised, discharged after a few days, and advised to rest — but continued campaigning vigorously for Sabah BN candidates.
He returned to Kinabatangan to vote on polling day and later monitored the election results in Kota Kinabalu while also meeting party members despite poor health.
A veteran known for his fiery style and blunt remarks in Parliament, Bung Moktar had served as Kinabatangan MP since 1999, including an uncontested victory in 2004.
Following BN’s fall in Sabah in 2018, he took over Sabah Umno and was credited with preventing the party’s collapse, leading to a comeback that included the Kimanis by-election win in 2020.
He later steered Sabah Barisan into an alliance with Sabah Bersatu in the 2020 state polls, helping topple the Warisan government and returning Umno to state power.
However, relations between Bung Moktar and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor deteriorated after the 2022 general election, leading BN to withdraw its support for Hajiji’s GRS government. Bung Moktar remained in the opposition and lost his bid to unseat Hajiji in the recent polls.
Sabah leaders and colleagues visited him in hospital shortly before his death.
