Poon had been expected to be named to the post. He had been the acting chairman since March 2019 following the death of Stephen Wong, then chairman and Sandakan MP.

Poon is the assemblyman for Tanjung Papat.

Chan said the result of the party polls caught him by surprise, adding it was not the first time he was defeated in a party election. The last time he lost was in November 2015.

“But that did not deter me,” he said, reported The Vibes news portal.

Phoong Jin Zhe, the previous Sabah DAP Youth chief, was named as secretary, a post Chan once occupied.

Tenom MP Noorita Sual and Odom @ Peter Dhoms Saili @ Soili were retained as vice-chairs, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong was elected as state publicity secretary, while Likas assemblyman Tan Lee Fatt was named as her assistant.