In a Facebook post, Akmal said that BN had retained Kinabatangan and Lamag. “Alhamdulillah, a win for Barisan Nasional. Thank you to all the voters and machinery who went all out to ensure this victory”.

Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said BN was leading in Kinabatangan with a majority of 9,723 votes, while the coalition was leading in Lamag with a majority of 2,093 votes.

The by-elections were triggered by the death of the incumbent, Bung Moktar Radin, 66, in early December.

The contest for the Kinabatangan seat saw a three-cornered fight involving BN’s Naim Kurniawan Moktar, Warisan’s Saddi Abdul Rahman and independent candidate Goldam Hamid.

Naim is Bung’s son.

The Lamag seat, meanwhile, witnessed a straight fight between BN’s Ismail Ayob and Warisan’s Mazliwati Abdul Malek.

The official results are expected to be announced by returning officer Eddy Syaizul Rizam Abdullah at 10pm at the earliest.

Bung had held both seats, defeating Mazliwati and retaining Kinabatangan in the 15th general election with a 4,330-vote majority.

He also defended the Lamag state seat with a 153-vote majority in a six-cornered contest in the state election on Nov 29 last year.

When contacted, Naim thanked the BN machinery and the machinery from the other components of the unity government in Sabah, especially Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

He also said his victory did not belong to BN alone.

“The supporters from other parties played a major role on the campaign trail.

“This is proof that the people accept the unity government in Sabah and yearn for political stability,” he said.