KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — Negeri Sembilan Umno will defer to party leadership on its next course of action following its withdrawal of support for the menteri besar, including any decision on a potential replacement, its chief Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said today.

Jalaluddin said the state chapter would abide by decisions made by Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership, including whether the next menteri besar should come from outside Umno.

“We will wait and see what the leadership decides, be it BN or PH. It is not for Negeri Sembilan Umno to determine,” he told reporters when met outside Merdeka Hall at the World Trade Centre.

He stressed that the current political crisis was “extraordinary”, following the decision by 14 Umno assemblymen on April 27 to withdraw support for the menteri besar.

Jalaluddin said the move came after issues the group could no longer accept, adding that the crisis was triggered by what he described as mismanagement by the menteri besar that disrupted the state’s political harmony.

“This is not about politics, power or ‘tebuk atap’ (back door). This concerns governance and the institutions of adat and the Negeri Sembilan monarchy,” he said.

He added that the loss of confidence by the 14 assemblymen was final and not a shifting political stance.

“If we have pulled support and the menteri besar continues to govern, it means we have lost trust,” he said.

Jalaluddin reiterated that Umno Negeri Sembilan is prepared to take on the role of opposition if directed by party leadership, potentially until the next general election.

“What we will do next depends on Umno’s decision. We don’t mind being in the opposition and if we are to be in the opposition, we will remain so until GE16,” he said.

On speculation over a replacement menteri besar, including the possibility of a PKR candidate, he said the matter was premature.

He warned that public debate surrounding the issue risked creating confusion, particularly among younger Malaysians, and could harm the reputation of Negeri Sembilan’s adat institutions.

“The question now is not about individuals or positions, but about the responsibility of a menteri besar. We cannot allow a crisis like this to happen, especially one involving adat,” he said.

“When such matters are debated openly, many will not fully understand adat. This can lead to negative perceptions and confusion among youths and students,” he added.

Jalaluddin said Umno was compelled to act to prevent further damage.

Earlier in his speech, Jalaluddin said many had accused Umno of betraying the government, but they forget that in 2023, Umno Negeri Sembilan won 14 seats — the most among all parties.

In the 2023 Negeri Sembilan state polls, Umno secured 14 seats, followed by PKR (five), DAP (11), Perikatan Nasional (five), and Amanah (one).

Jalaluddin pointed out that with the strongest representation at the time, he could have moved to destabilise the government earlier if he had intended to do so.

“If I wanted to stir something, I could have done it then but I respected the federal leadership’s call to maintain peace and stability so that we could work together,” he said.

He said Umno had continued to play its role within the state government over the past two-and-a-half years, including holding four executive council (exco) positions.

Rejecting accusations of a “tebuk atap” (backdoor takeover), Jalaluddin said such claims were misplaced.

“Tebuk atap is when you try to take over the government from outside. We are already part of the government — we have exco positions and allocations. What ‘tebuk atap’ is this?” he asked.

He stressed that the withdrawal of support was prompted by dissatisfaction with the state government’s handling of a recent crisis, which he said could not be compromised.

“We are also close to the general election, but we cannot compromise when there is failure in governance,” he said.

Jalaluddin said Umno Negeri Sembilan would now sit in the opposition for as long as it believes the state government is not performing effectively.

He added that the party would focus on strengthening its position ahead of the next general election.

“We will do our best to win all seats. We do not need to cater to others’ feelings. As chairman of the state Umno machinery, it is my responsibility to ensure we are in a dominant position,” he said.

He also rejected claims that Umno’s actions were motivated by a desire for power or positions.

“Umno Negeri Sembilan is not greedy or hungry for posts. We did not want to disrupt the momentum, but we acted because we have principles we cannot abandon — integrity, and our promises to religion and nation,” he said.

Reaffirming the party’s stance, Jalaluddin ended with a firm message: “No retreat, no surrender.”

RAWANG, May 1 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged all parties to remain calm in addressing the situation in Negeri Sembilan and to prioritise efforts to revive the economy and safeguard the interests of the people.

He said the situation in the state must be handled in accordance with the provisions of the state constitution, while respecting the decree of the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, for Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun to continue in office.

Anwar stressed that the priority now is to restore the national economy rather than to escalate political issues.

“We have given our advice, and I have conveyed this to our friends in Pakatan Harapan, and also to the leadership of Umno.

“If discussions are needed, we can have them, but for now, we must not disrupt efforts to revive the economy and safeguard the interests of the people. That is what matters most,” he told reporters after performing Friday prayers at Masjid Nurul Iman here today.

On Monday, all 14 Umno and Barisan Nasional assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan announced they had lost confidence in and withdrawn support from the state government led by Aminuddin. — Bernama

APRIL 30 — Life is imperfect. Democracy is an earnest attempt to enable the rule of the people. 

It’s rife with imperfections, like my relationship with Sugu, my Seremban cousin through marriage who knocked out a tooth off me, after I did the same months earlier. 

We would have been between eight and nine years old. 

Sugu died some time back but Negeri Sembilan democracy may resuscitate if actors act in good faith. 

Actors dictate democracy’s efficacy. 

Why? In a universal direct participatory democracy, all decisions require all to vote on and removes the principal-agent problem inherent in representation. 

For instance, if all Negeri Sembilan adults are asked to vote today on whether Aminuddin Harun should continue as menteri besar, a conclusive outcome prevails. Except this is not possible. 

A general view outside the Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly before the opening of the First Sitting of the Fourth Term of the 15th State Legislative Assembly in Seremban on April 23, 2026. — Picture by Yusof Isa

Therefore, the conduct of those in power decide whether things are smoother or a complete wreck. 

State voters elect their state representatives who then pick a menteri besar. This happens ideally every five years, as it did in August 2023. 

The majority of state representatives known as assemblymen picked Aminuddin in 2018. They were all Pakatan Harapan members. 

In 2023, Pakatan contested in tandem with its new ally Barisan Nasional. Both Pakatan and BN dwindled to 17 and 14 respectively, shedding five seats to Perikatan Nasional. 

Those 31 Aduns from Pakatan-BN chose Aminuddin to continue. A super-majority in the house, Pakatan-BN was a solid coalition. 

There was a squabble involving the feudal lords and the state palace last week. The column won’t weigh into it, the subject is firmly about Aminuddin’s future. 

It was, however, a pretext for why the 14 BN electors withdrew support for Aminuddin’s administration which brought this kerfuffle.  

It’s a curious development. Months pass without any mention of Negeri Sembilan. On a ranking, the state south of Selangor is quietest in the country. 

Only three men have been mentri besar in the last 44 years. Even the longest serving, Isa Samad (1982-2004) serves a prison sentence for his shenanigans as Felda chairman, not as Negeri Sembilan’s menteri besar. 

There’s hardly any stories of rifts and betrayals from Seremban. Yet, this happens. 

The actors

The DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke is omnipresent, not only because he is an assemblyman but that his party is 11 of the 17 Pakatan assemblymen. This is shared a lot, including the discourse DAP-Umno relations are at a lowpoint. 

What is not shared as much is that of the 14 BN assemblymen, and all of them are Umno representatives, the most senior of them is former MB for 14 years, Rantau assemblyman and party deputy president Mohamad Hasan. Which is why all the pictures of BN assemblymen display only 13 individuals. 

Also, as foreign minister at a time of international jeopardy and intrigue, Mohamad or affectionately known as Tok Mat, has plenty of occasions to speak to the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, also Aminuddin’s party and coalition leader. 

With all these criss-crosses or matrix reporting lines, how did we end up in this swamp?

Who is truly disgruntled? 

Cascades into a political race

2025 ended with drama and a change of MB in Perlis.That has not fully settled. 

Perak was the test case of Umno-DAP relations in 2022, which is the bedrock of the Madani government. If Negeri Sembilan continues to unravel, attention turns to Perak, and then to Johor which needs an election next March.

A round of switcheroos occurred in 2020 after the Pakatan federal government imploded. Another is on the cards if those in Cabinet are unable to cease the bleeding in Seremban. 

There are obvious questions about relationships inside Umno and Pakatan from the current political stalemate. 

Already DAP is ready for elections at the federal and state levels this year, and in a way, the situation brings it to a head, the long term viability of persisting with a fixed alliance between Pakatan and BN.

The other rumour

The word around the campfire is that Negeri Sembilan is a ruse to test the waters. Whether voters are keen or not on Pakatan and BN going in different directions in the lead up to GE16. 

Expectations are that the matter resolves itself in a fortnight. 

A way to see how organised PN is to take advantage of the indecision among Umno ranks. 

And finally, to remind Aminuddin who is closely linked to out of favour former PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who are those that have the patronage to sustain his stay as MB. 

The early signs indicate that a contained disjointment is manageable.

It is excellent for both BN and Pakatan to score the situation.

They’d both be happier to face each other in the general if indeed it’s a two way battle for supremacy.

Glad to trade blows in a general election and still be cousins with an outside chance of forming government again together if they cannot muster the majority on their own. 

It is not a great advert for the progress of democracy in Malaysia, but a sign of several schemes in play, just not in plain sight. 

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.