Yahya Lampong

Datuk Mohammad Yahya bin Lampong was a Malaysian politician from Sabah whose career stretched across more than three decades and several parties, from the old Sabah movement USNO through UMNO to PKR. Born in Kinarut in 1940, he studied economics at the University of Malaya and rose in the state civil service, ending as chief executive of the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) before turning to elected politics.

He first stood in 1981 for the Usukan state seat on the BERJAYA ticket against USNO president Tun Said Keruak, losing by only 81 votes. The next year he contested the Kota Belud parliamentary seat as an independent and defeated Barisan Nasional candidate Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, serving as Member of Parliament from 1982 to 1986. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Rural Development. In 1985 he left BERJAYA for USNO, resigned his federal post, and won the Tempasuk state seat, sitting in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly through 1986.

After USNO was dissolved he joined UMNO in 1990 and became division chief of UMNO Tanjung Aru. Author Musli Oli later recalled him as a driving force in bringing UMNO into Sabah and uniting Bumiputera Muslim communities there. In 1999 he briefly left for BERSEKUTU but rejoined UMNO within twelve hours. He was removed as Tanjung Aru division chief by the party's disciplinary committee in August 2001, and he served as pro tem vice president of the Malay rights group Perkasa until 2009. In 2012 he left UMNO for PKR, citing the influence of the late PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz, and contested Papar for PKR in the 2013 general election without success. For public service he received the Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) in 1998, carrying the title Datuk.

Yahya Lampong died on the morning of 21 September 2026 at about 6 a.m. at KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, aged 86. His son, Masley Yahya, confirmed the death on Facebook; the cause was not disclosed. Remains were taken to Nurul Islam Mosque in Ampang for bathing and funeral prayers, with burial after Zohor prayers. Malaysian outlets including Bernama, Sinar Daily, Astro Awani, Free Malaysia Today and the Sabah based Jesselton Times marked the passing of a veteran who had lived through Sabah's major political realignments from the 1980s onward.