Alex Thien Ching Qiang

Summary

Alex Thien Ching Qiang is a Warisan politician and chemical engineer who won the N56 Tanjong Papat seat in the 17th Sabah State Election on 29 November 2025, defeating a seven-candidate field with 3,254 votes and a majority of 727. His victory was part of Warisan's sweep of six formerly DAP-held urban constituencies in Sabah. He had previously contested the Sandakan parliamentary seat in GE15 (2022) but was unsuccessful.

Biography

Alex Thien Ching Qiang is a Malaysian politician and chemical engineer who serves as the Warisan Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for N56 Tanjong Papat, a constituency located in the Sandakan District of Sabah [1]. By profession, he is a chemical engineer specialising in renewable energy, and was aged 31 at the time of his first electoral contest in 2022 [2]. He first entered public life when Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal named him as one of three young candidates for the 15th General Election (GE15) in 2022, contesting the Sandakan parliamentary seat [3]. He was unsuccessful in that contest, losing to DAP's Vivian Wong Shir Yee by a majority of 11,031 votes [4]. Thien subsequently transitioned to state-level politics and was fielded by Warisan for the N56 Tanjong Papat seat in the 17th Sabah State Election held on 29 November 2025 [5]. He won the seat with 3,254 votes against a field of seven other candidates, defeating former Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon (who stood under KDM) and a Pakatan Harapan candidate with a majority of 727 votes [6]. His victory was part of a broader Warisan sweep of all six seats previously held by DAP in Sabah, driven in part by a swing among Chinese-majority urban constituencies [6]. Thien is described by Warisan as one of the party's new-generation leaders drawn from professional and technical backgrounds [7].

Known for

Alex Thien Ching Qiang is known for being one of Warisan's young professional candidates, identified as a chemical engineer specialising in renewable energy before entering politics [8]. He gained his first electoral experience contesting the Sandakan parliamentary seat in GE15 (2022) before successfully winning the Tanjong Papat state seat in the 2025 Sabah election as part of Warisan's sweep of former DAP-held urban constituencies [9]. During the 2025 campaign, he drew attention to infrastructure deficiencies in Sandakan's water villages, particularly the deteriorating condition of wooden walkway bridges used by residents daily [10].

Political positions

Based on available sourced reporting, Thien has publicly highlighted the deteriorating infrastructure in Sandakan's coastal water villages as a priority concern. During the 2025 election campaign he specifically noted that wooden walkway bridges in communities such as Kampung Sim-Sim were in poor repair and posed safety risks to residents including families, schoolchildren, and elderly people [10]. His pre-political professional background in renewable energy engineering suggests an orientation toward sustainability issues; Warisan president Shafie Apdal specifically cited Thien's technical background when nominating him for GE15 in 2022, framing young professionals as capable of forming policy and contributing ideas for national progress [3]. No further formal policy positions have been sourced from the allowlist domains at this time.

Before politics

1. c. 1991Born approximately 1991, based on reported age of 31 at the time of GE15 in October 2022.⛓
2. Pre-2022Worked as a chemical engineer specialising in renewable energy before entering politics.⛓

Political career

1. October 2022Named by Warisan president Shafie Apdal as the party's candidate for the Sandakan parliamentary seat in GE15, one of three young professional candidates announced.⛓
2. November 2022Contested the Sandakan parliamentary seat in GE15 under Warisan, losing to incumbent PH candidate Vivian Wong Shir Yee by a majority of 11,031 votes.⛓
3. 12 November 2025Named by Warisan as its candidate for N56 Tanjong Papat in the 17th Sabah State Election.⛓
4. 19 November 2025During the election campaign, raised concerns about deteriorating wooden walkway bridges in Sandakan's water villages, following an incident in which a campaign volunteer fell into the sea at Kampung Sim-Sim.⛓
5. 29 November 2025Won the N56 Tanjong Papat state seat with 3,254 votes and a majority of 727, defeating seven other candidates including former Sabah DAP chairman Frankie Poon (KDM) and a PH candidate.⛓

Election history

• 2025Tanjong Papat (N56)Won35.1%⛓
• 2022Sandakan (P186)Lost⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentWarisan president Shafie Apdal endorsed Thien as one of the party's young professional candidates in both GE15 and the 2025 Sabah state election, describing such candidates as capable of forming policy and contributing ideas for national progress.⛓
• VerifiedFactsThien won N56 Tanjong Papat in the 17th Sabah State Election with 3,254 votes and a 727-vote majority. He was one of 11 new Warisan faces elected in the 2025 election. Warisan finished with 25 seats overall in a hung assembly.⛓
• ExpertA Universiti Malaysia Sabah academic described the election of 21 new faces including Thien as 'a rejection of the status quo', signifying that Sabah was entering a new political chapter shaped by current issues, and that party loyalty alone was no longer the primary factor in securing voter support.⛓
• OppositionDAP acknowledged a comprehensive defeat in the 2025 Sabah election, with Sabah DAP chairman Phoong Jin Zhe conceding that the results were a clear message of voter dissatisfaction. Tanjong Papat, previously a DAP-held seat, was among the six seats lost to Warisan.⛓