TopicsPolitician AnalysisChin Tek Ming

Chin Tek Ming

Party
WARISAN · Sabah Heritage Party
Constituency
Kapayan
State
Sabah
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Why this matters to you

As assemblyman for Kapayan — Sabah's largest constituency by registered voters — Chin Tek Ming's campaign for Sabah's 40% constitutional revenue entitlement bears directly on how much state funding is available for roads, water infrastructure and public services in the Penampang district and beyond (Source: thestar.com.my). His advocacy alongside fellow Warisan assemblymen for a diesel subsidy exemption for Sabah affects transport costs and the day-to-day viability of small businesses, fisheries and community services across the state (Source: thestar.com.my). His push for remote voting rights for Sabahans in Peninsular Malaysia is relevant to the estimated many thousands of Sabahans who work or study outside the state and currently face high costs to exercise their vote (Source: thestar.com.my).

Party History

Katak (party-switcher)

1 party-switch across 2 parties

Career span
2008–2025
Career win rate
33%
Hop win rate
100%
Crossed coalition lines once
  1. PBS
  2. WARISAN
See every switch
  • 2025PBSWARISAN🔀won

Data from Lompat (by Zach Yek), built on the Malaysian Election Corpus (by Thevesh Thevananthan). CC0.

Summary

Chin Tek Ming is the Parti Warisan (WARISAN) state assemblyman for Kapayan (N.25), Sabah, elected on 29 November 2025 after defeating DAP's two-term incumbent in the 17th Sabah State Election. A lawyer by background before entering politics, he is a first-term opposition assemblyman whose public record centres on Sabah's constitutional 40% revenue entitlement, MACC accountability on the Sabah mining scandal, state autonomy, diesel subsidy relief and voting access for Sabahans in Peninsular Malaysia.

Biography

Chin Tek Ming is a lawyer-turned-politician serving as the state assemblyman for Kapayan (N.25), Sabah, under Parti Warisan (WARISAN). He was elected as one of 21 new faces in the 17th Sabah State Election on 29 November 2025, defeating DAP's two-term incumbent Datuk Jannie Lasimbang with 3,455 votes in a 13-cornered contest [1]. Prior to entering electoral politics, he was practising as a lawyer in Kota Kinabalu [2]. Kapayan is a suburban mixed constituency in the Penampang district with approximately 39 per cent KDM, 37 per cent Chinese and 20 per cent Muslim native voters, and is Sabah's largest constituency by registered electorate at 49,597 voters [3]. The seat had been held by DAP since 2013 before Chin's victory [4]. Chin sits in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly as part of Warisan's opposition bloc, which secured 25 of 73 seats in the 2025 election against the GRS-led government [5]. Since taking office, he has been active on a range of Sabah-specific issues: Sabah's constitutional 40% revenue entitlement under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), accountability in the Sabah mining licence scandal, the scope of the federal Agency for Border Control and Immigration (AKPS) on Sabah's autonomy, targeted diesel subsidy exemptions for Sabah, and enabling Sabahans in Peninsular Malaysia to vote without travelling home [6].

Known for

Chin Tek Ming is known for championing Sabah's constitutional claim to 40% of federal revenue, tabling a private member's motion in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly to establish a binding implementation framework with figures, deadlines and enforceable mechanisms — a motion rejected by the Speaker in May 2026 [7]. He has also led a group of eight Warisan assemblymen in pressing the MACC for a public update on its investigations into the Sabah mining licence scandal [7]. As part of a Warisan cohort that swept seats previously held by DAP in 2025, he represents a notable shift in Sabah's Chinese voter base [8].

Political positions

On Sabah's revenue rights, Chin has argued that the state's 40% entitlement under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 is a constitutional obligation and not a discretionary grant subject to economic conditions, directly challenging federal statements that conditioned payment on economic performance [7]. His private member's motion called for recognition of the constitutional right, full payment of arrears for 2022–2025 within a 60-day negotiation deadline, and mandatory legal proceedings if talks failed; the motion was rejected by the Sabah assembly Speaker [7]. On anti-corruption, Chin questioned the Sabah cabinet's corruption-free pledge and called on the MACC under its new chief commissioner to provide a comprehensive public status update on all investigation papers related to the Sabah mining licence scandal [9]. On Sabah's autonomy, he warned that the AKPS Act may progressively weaken Sabah's special immigration powers under MA63 [4]. He has advocated for Sabahans residing in Peninsular Malaysia to be allowed to vote from the peninsula for GE16, citing prohibitive airfares and employer reluctance to grant leave [7]. On cost of living, he joined fellow Warisan assemblymen in submitting a memorandum seeking Sabah's exemption from the revised targeted diesel subsidy scheme, citing the state's distinct geographical and economic realities [7].

References

  1. [1]thestar.com.my; sinardaily.my
  2. [2]malaymail.com
  3. [3]garasi.bernama.com; malaymail.com
  4. [4]freemalaysiatoday.com
  5. [5]theedgemalaysia.com
  6. [6]thestar.com.my; freemalaysiatoday.com; malaysiakini.com
  7. [7]thestar.com.my
  8. [8]bernama.com
  9. [9]malaysiakini.com

Before politics

  1. Pre-2025Practised as a lawyer in Kota Kinabalu prior to entering electoral politics with Warisan.⛓

Political career

  1. February 2025Appeared at Warisan's Chinese New Year open house in Kota Kinabalu in connection with the Sabah mining scandal, indicating his political engagement with Warisan ahead of the state election.⛓
  2. 29 November 2025Won the Kapayan (N.25) state seat for Warisan in the 17th Sabah State Election, polling 3,455 votes in a 13-cornered contest to defeat DAP's two-term incumbent Datuk Jannie Lasimbang (1,514 votes). Named one of 21 new faces elected to the Sabah assembly.⛓
  3. February 2026Questioned the credibility of the Sabah cabinet's corruption-free pledge, citing unresolved allegations surrounding the Sabah mining scandal implicating Hajiji's previous administration.⛓
  4. 27 March 2026Led eight Warisan assemblymen in submitting a memorandum to the Sabah MACC office demanding updates on the mining licence scandal investigation and questioning the delay in charges given available evidence.⛓
  5. 6 April 2026Called on the Sabah and federal governments to enable Sabahans in Peninsular Malaysia to vote from the peninsula ahead of GE16, citing high travel costs and employer constraints on leave.⛓
  6. 1 May 2026Tabled a private member's motion in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for a binding framework on the state's 40% constitutional revenue entitlement, including arrears payment and a 60-day negotiation timeline. The motion was rejected by the Speaker.⛓
  7. 13 May 2026Raised concerns at a state assembly sitting that the federal AKPS border agency Act may progressively weaken Sabah's special immigration powers under MA63.⛓
  8. 25 May 2026Welcomed a PBS call for a bipartisan state assembly committee on Sabah's 40% revenue entitlement, but conditioned his participation on the committee having legal status, a binding mandate, set timelines and reporting obligations.⛓
  9. 1 July 2026Joined six other Warisan assemblymen in submitting a memorandum to the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry seeking Sabah's exemption from the revised targeted diesel subsidy scheme.⛓

Election history

  • 2025Kapayan (N.25), Sabah State Legislative AssemblyWon⛓

Stance evolution

Public statements grouped chronologically. The party tag shows which party the politician was contesting under at that point.

  1. 2026WARISAN
    • This was not rhetoric, but a concrete framework with figures, deadlines and enforceable mechanisms.

      Statement issued after the Sabah Legislative Assembly rejected his private member's motion on Sabah's 40% constitutional revenue entitlement. · Source

    • Airfares and land transportation costs are expensive, and employers' reluctance to grant at least three working days of leave are major obstacles for them to return and vote.

      Public statement calling for Sabahans residing in Peninsular Malaysia to be permitted to vote from the peninsula for GE16. · Source

    • It is a deliberate act of character assassination carried out through social media with reckless disregard for personal reputation, public decency and religious sensitivities.

      Statement responding to a fake social media wedding invitation circulated on TikTok falsely linking him to a fellow Warisan member. · Source

Perspectives on key issues

  • OppositionAs a Warisan opposition assemblyman, Chin Tek Ming has consistently pressed the GRS state government to commit to enforceable timelines on Sabah's 40% constitutional revenue entitlement and questioned the state government's anti-corruption credibility given unresolved mining scandal allegations. He has framed the 40% issue as a constitutional obligation, not a discretionary matter.⛓
  • GovernmentSabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor said Chin was 'simply playing politics' on the 40% revenue issue. GRS deputy secretary-general Armizan Mohd Ali described Chin's private member's motion as politically driven, intended to portray Warisan as the main MA63 champion while casting GRS assemblymen as obstacles — and noted that the motion was rejected by the Speaker, not the government.⛓
  • VerifiedFactsChin Tek Ming won 3,455 votes in the 17th Sabah State Election (29 November 2025), defeating incumbent Datuk Jannie Lasimbang (1,514 votes) in a 13-cornered contest. Kapayan (N.25) had 49,597 registered voters — the largest electorate in Sabah. His private member's motion on Sabah's 40% revenue entitlement was rejected by the Sabah assembly Speaker in May 2026. He is one of 11 new Warisan faces elected in 2025.⛓

Sources

Every URL the AI used to draft this profile, for editor and reader verification.

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