Masiung Banah

Summary

Datuk Masiung Banah is the five-term assemblyman for Kuamut, Sabah, representing GAGASAN under the GRS ruling coalition, having first won the seat in 2008 and most recently retaining it in the 2025 Sabah state election with a 457-vote majority. He serves as Vice President of GAGASAN, chairman of the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco) with ministerial status, and chairman of Borneo Cement (S) Sdn Bhd. His political focus centres on native land rights, rural infrastructure, and Sabah's economic development through state-federal cooperation.

Biography

Datuk Masiung Banah (born 19 May 1972) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Kuamut constituency since March 2008 [1]. He is a Vice President of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GAGASAN), a component party of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ruling coalition [1]. Masiung won the Kuamut seat across five successive elections, initially under the Barisan Nasional-UPKO banner, before crossing to Warisan following the 2018 general election and subsequently leaving to contest and win the 2020 snap state election as an independent candidate with a 978-vote majority [2]. He joined Gagasan Rakyat in 2023 [2]. In the 2025 Sabah state election held on 29 November 2025, he retained Kuamut under the GRS banner with 4,980 votes and a 457-vote majority [2]. Following the election, he was appointed chairman of the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco) with ministerial status in January 2026 [3]. He also holds the chairmanship of Borneo Cement (S) Sdn Bhd, a government-linked joint venture developing a RM1.2 billion clinker and cement plant in Tongod, his own constituency [3]. Kuamut, at 3,881 square miles, is described as the second-biggest state constituency in Malaysia [4]. Masiung is also chairman of the Sabah State Assembly Backbenchers [3].

Known for

Masiung Banah is known primarily as a long-serving assemblyman for the geographically vast and rural Kuamut seat, where he has consistently championed native land title issues and rural infrastructure connectivity [5]. He set up a Special Technical Committee to facilitate land grant applications, resulting in nearly 10,000 people successfully obtaining land grants during his tenure [5]. He is also identified with the Borneo Cement (Sabah) project — a RM1.2 billion state-linked clinker and cement plant proposed for the Tongod district in his constituency — which has drawn both support and opposition scrutiny [3].

Political positions

On land rights, Masiung has made native land ownership a core pillar of his work, establishing a Special Technical Committee and supporting the Sabah Native Land Survey Special Programme (PANTAS) to help villagers obtain land grants [5]. On federal-state relations, he emphasises the importance of alignment between the Sabah state government and the federal government for development to be realised, and has highlighted Federal Government progress on matters under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) as evidence that cooperation is productive [5]. On Sabah's coalition politics, he has spoken against electoral pacts he views as harmful to GRS, notably criticising BN's conduct following the Langkah Kinabalu episode, and proposing that GRS contest the majority of Sabah's state seats independently [6][2]. On the economy, as Sedco chairman he has flagged risks of rising construction material costs and global oil price volatility to Sabah's cost of living, and has called for urgent state action plans to pre-empt price spirals [5][3]. On natural resources, he has advocated for Sabah to explore rare earth resources to boost state revenue, citing Sarawak's example [3]. On rural development, he has championed rural infrastructure (roads, water, electricity), Kemas education facilities, and agro-tourism development including the commercialisation of the indigenous durian merah variety [3].

Political career

1. March 2008First elected as Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Kuamut, under the Barisan Nasional (UPKO) banner.⛓
2. May 2013Re-elected to the Kuamut seat in the 13th Malaysian general election under the Barisan Nasional (UPKO) ticket.⛓
3. May 2018Re-elected for Kuamut under Barisan Nasional (UPKO). Following GE14, aligned with Warisan-PH and was announced as Youth and Sports Minister in the short-lived Musa Aman cabinet before supporting Shafie Apdal's government.⛓
4. November 2018Left UPKO to become an independent assemblyman, subsequently joining Warisan on 18 December 2018.⛓
5. July 2020Warisan membership automatically terminated; became an independent assemblyman and expressed support for former Chief Minister Musa Aman, a move that contributed to the dissolution of the state assembly and snap election.⛓
6. September 2020Retained the Kuamut seat as an independent candidate in the snap Sabah state election, winning with a 978-vote majority.⛓
7. 2023Joined Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GAGASAN) following the party's takeover by Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor.⛓
8. November 2025Won the Kuamut seat for a fifth consecutive term under the GRS (GAGASAN) banner in the 17th Sabah state election with 4,980 votes and a 457-vote majority.⛓
9. January 2026Appointed chairman of the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco) with ministerial status, while retaining chairmanship of Borneo Cement (S) Sdn Bhd.⛓

Election history

• 2025KuamutWon⛓
• 2020KuamutWon⛓
• 2018KuamutWon⛓
• 2013KuamutWon⛓
• 2008KuamutWon⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentAs GAGASAN Vice President and Sedco chairman with ministerial status, Masiung is positioned within the GRS-led ruling coalition government in Sabah, advocating for political stability, federal-state cooperation, and Sabah's economic development agenda through state-linked corporations.⛓
• OppositionWarisan's potential Kuamut candidate Norfaizah Chua questioned Masiung's modern village proposal, arguing it risked marginalising indigenous land rights and that the GRS government should instead address overlapping land applications and evictions from native customary lands.⛓
• ExpertSabah political analyst Dr Syahruddin Awg Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah observed that Masiung's 2020 decision to contest as an independent aligned with PN was likely a strategic move to retain voter support and position himself to benefit from whichever coalition formed the state government.⛓
• AffectedWarisan raised concerns in the state assembly over whether logging was taking place to facilitate the Borneo Cement (Sabah) factory in Tongod, and questioned the rationale of siting the factory in such a remote area, reflecting local concerns about environmental impact and development trade-offs.⛓
• VerifiedFactsMasiung won the Kuamut seat in 2025 with 4,980 votes and a 457-vote majority (confirmed official result). He has held the seat since 2008 across five consecutive elections. He was appointed Sedco chairman with ministerial status in January 2026. He stated to media that MACC informed him there was no case against him following his voluntary attendance at MACC to give a statement in December 2024; no charges were filed.⛓

Business interests (publicly reported)

Masiung holds the chairmanship of Borneo Cement (S) Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco) and Sri Alam Setia Sdn Bhd, developing a RM1.2 billion clinker and cement plant in Tongod, within his own Kuamut constituency (Source: thestar.com.my). The Star reported in January 2026 that he retains this position alongside his appointment as Sedco chairman (Source: thestar.com.my). As Sedco chairman, he oversees the state-owned Sedco Group and its approximately 23 subsidiaries (Source: bernama.com).