Aliakbar Gulasan

Summary

Datuk Dr Aliakbar Gulasan (born 1971) is the PAS Sabah State Commissioner and elected Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Karambunai since November 2025, having previously served as a nominated assemblyman from 2020 to 2025. A former UMS lecturer with a doctorate in urban geography, he made history twice — first as PAS's inaugural assemblyman in Sabah (by nomination in 2020), and then as the party's first ever elected representative in East Malaysia (2025). He sits in the Sabah assembly as a PAS/PN member outside the governing coalition while formally supporting Chief Minister Hajiji Noor's administration.

Biography

Datuk Dr Aliakbar bin Gulasan (born 8 February 1971, Kampung Kota Ayangan, Keningau, Sabah) is a Malaysian politician of mixed Pakistani-Dusun-Murut-Bajau descent who serves as the elected Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) for Karambunai (N16) since November 2025 [1]. He is the State Commissioner (Pesuruhjaya) of PAS Sabah since November 2023 and also holds the position of PN Sabah Deputy Chairman [2]. Before entering politics, Aliakbar was a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), a post he commenced in November 1996 after completing his doctorate in urban geography at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 1995 [3]. He was appointed Chairman of the Malaysian Cocoa Board on 1 July 2020, a position he held until September 2021 [1]. In October 2020, he was appointed as a Nominated Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly under the GRS state administration led by Chief Minister Hajiji Noor — the first PAS member ever to sit in the Sabah assembly [4]. In the 17th Sabah State Election held on 29 November 2025, Aliakbar contested Karambunai under the Perikatan Nasional ticket and won with 7,054 votes, defeating ten other candidates in an eleven-cornered contest with a majority of 365 votes — marking the first time a PAS candidate was elected to the Sabah State Legislative Assembly [5]. His election result was subsequently upheld by the Election Court on 27 March 2026 after a petition filed by a Warisan candidate was struck out [6]. Note: The Star's initial election-night report and Sinar Daily cited a majority of 371 votes; the Election Court judgment and the official FMT winners list confirm 365 votes. The 365-vote figure is used here as the more authoritative source.

Known for

Aliakbar Gulasan is defined by two consecutive historic firsts for PAS in Sabah: becoming the party's first ever nominated assemblyman in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly in October 2020, and then its first ever elected assemblyman in November 2025 [7]. He is also recognised as the first PAS candidate to win an elected seat anywhere in East Malaysia [8]. His academic background in urban geography and his cross-ethnic, multi-religious family background have shaped a political profile focused on local Sabahan identity, infrastructure development, anti-corruption, and clean governance [9].

Political positions

Aliakbar has publicly advocated for anti-corruption measures and transparent, results-oriented governance, calling at the December 2025 Sabah Budget debate for project implementations to be carried out with transparency and urgency, and for a no-squatter policy to address social ills and infrastructure deficiencies [6]. During his time as a nominated assemblyman, he questioned the Sabah state government on the timeline for resolving Sabah's chronic rural water supply shortages [10]. He has consistently positioned PAS in Sabah as a party rooted in local identity and peaceful, harmonious politics rather than Peninsula-style religious politics, stating publicly that PAS in Sabah practices peaceful and harmonious politics [11]. He has also argued against vote-buying and what he characterised as treating Sabahans as objects of patronage politics [8]. Following the 2025 state election, PAS confirmed that Aliakbar would support Chief Minister Hajiji Noor's GRS-led administration from outside the cabinet [6].

Education

1. 1995Completed doctoral studies (PhD in Urban Geography) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).⛓

Before politics

1. November 1996Appointed as lecturer (later senior lecturer) at the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).⛓

Political career

1. 1 July 2020Appointed Chairman of the Malaysian Cocoa Board; served until September 2021.⛓
2. 8 October 2020Sworn in as Nominated Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly under GRS Chief Minister Hajiji Noor — the first PAS member ever to sit in the Sabah assembly.⛓
3. November 2023Elected as PAS State Commissioner (Pesuruhjaya) for Sabah following the PAS leadership election.⛓
4. 29 November 2025Won the N16 Karambunai seat in the 17th Sabah State Election under the Perikatan Nasional ticket with 7,054 votes and a majority of 365, defeating ten other candidates — the first PAS candidate ever elected to the Sabah State Legislative Assembly.⛓
5. December 2025PAS confirmed Aliakbar would support GRS Chief Minister Hajiji Noor's government from outside the Sabah Cabinet.⛓
6. 15 December 2025Participated in the Sabah Budget debate, calling for anti-corruption measures, transparent project implementation, and the introduction of a no-squatter policy.⛓
7. 27 March 2026Election Court struck out a Warisan candidate's petition challenging his Karambunai win, confirming his election result as valid.⛓

Election history

• 2025Karambunai (N16), SabahWon⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentPAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man stated that PAS approved Aliakbar supporting Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, citing his existing rapport with the GRS administration from his time as nominated assemblyman as a practical advantage for constituents.⛓
• ExpertLee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah attributed Aliakbar's victory primarily to his personal character and five years of grassroots groundwork since 2020, noting that his personality is liked by many people, including non-Muslims, and that PAS's identity politics were not the decisive factor given Karambunai's sizable non-Muslim population.⛓
• ExpertBilcher Bala of UMS cautioned that the narrow 365-vote majority suggested PAS's future in Sabah depends on whether it can broaden its appeal beyond religious identity and embed itself in local socio-economic issues.⛓
• OppositionPolitical observer Johan Ariffin Samad noted that Aliakbar's victory was not wholly surprising given his five-year foothold as nominated assemblyman, and cautioned that if PAS plays the same racial and religious issues as in West Malaysia, it will not last long in Sabah.⛓
• VerifiedFactsThe Election Court on 27 March 2026 struck out Warisan candidate Ahmad Jais Otong's petition challenging the Karambunai result, finding the petition fundamentally defective. Aliakbar's official tally was confirmed as 7,054 votes with a majority of 365.⛓