Negeri Sembilan state assembly to be dissolved on Jun 5; polls to be held within 60 days

KUALA LUMPUR: The Negeri Sembilan state legislative assembly will be dissolved on Friday (Jun 5), more than two years before it is due, paving the way for snap polls to be held within 60 days.

This came after Chief Minister Aminuddin Harun said in a hastily arranged press conference at 11.30pm on Thursday that the state’s ruler, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, had consented to his request to dissolve the state assembly.

“The assembly will be dissolved effective tomorrow, Jun 5,” said Aminuddin, as quoted by news outlet Free Malaysia Today.

“There is nothing surprising about this dissolution; people have already known about it since Wednesday. I am just confirming it today,” said Aminuddin, the Negeri Sembilan Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman.

“We believe we need to return the mandate to the people to decide the future of Negeri Sembilan.”

He added that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the PH chairman, had an audience with Tuanku Muhriz on Wednesday regarding the state assembly’s dissolution.

Aminuddin also said PH aimed to contest all 36 seats and had finalised seat distributions among the coalition’s components.

The announcement came after the southern state of Johor had earlier announced the dissolution of its own legislative assembly on Jun 1.

With the dissolution of the Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly, an election must be called by the Election Commission within 60 days. Thus, the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election must be held by Aug 4. 

It was not initially due until November 2028. 

The last state polls were held on Aug 12, 2023.

Negeri Sembilan is jointly run by two separate political coalitions -  PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) - replicating a power-sharing model of the federal unity government. 

The 36-seat state assembly comprised 17 assemblypersons from PH, 14 from United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) - a lynchpin BN party - and five from the opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN).

The snap polls came amid a backdrop of a recent leadership crisis in its state government. 

On Apr 27, the 14 UMNO assemblypersons withdrew their support for Aminuddin over his handling of a crisis involving the state monarchy but later said that they would maintain cooperation in the state.  

The exodus meant that Aminuddin had lost majority support in the state, although Anwar had called for continuity in the state administration and for Aminuddin to continue his duties as usual.

To form the government in Negeri Sembilan state, 19 seats are needed. 

The state monarchy crisis is linked to a system unique to Negeri Sembilan, where the state ruler is elected by a council of four territorial chiefs (Undangs) rather than inheriting the throne through direct hereditary succession.

Under the system, Undangs hold the unique dual power to both elect and depose the ruler.

In an unprecedented move, the four Undangs had tried to topple Tuanku Muhriz on Apr 19, claiming misconduct by him.

The Undangs sought to replace him with Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar, the son of the previous ruler.

A day later, Aminuddin dismissed the Undangs' attempt and declared the move invalid, claiming that one of the four Undangs had been removed from his position. 

Referencing the royal tussle, the 14 UMNO assemblypersons then withdrew their support for Aminuddin, while emphasising that they respected customary institutions and the constitution and would not interfere in related matters.

Ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, PH leaders and state assemblypersons from the coalition held an "emergency meeting" at Aminuddin’s official residence on Tuesday, local news outlets reported. 

Addressing talks of a possible state assembly dissolution, Negeri Sembilan Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary Cha Kee Chin said in a Facebook post later on Tuesday that the meeting was a "regular" one. The DAP is a component party of PH. 

"It was a regular meeting, not a special meeting. It was called an emergency meeting because of the short notice after the dissolution of the Johor state assembly," he said. 

Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi, in announcing the dissolution of his state assembly, said that the move made way for the "democratic process through the official determination of the Election Commission of Malaysia".

In Johor's last state election in 2022, BN won a two-third majority in the state assembly.

CNA earlier reported that BN was preparing for early state elections in Johor and Melaka, quoting sources from within UMNO.

Opposition coalition PN had previously said that they will contest all 56 seats in the Johor polls, setting the stage for a three-cornered fight with BN and PH.

In Johor's last polls, PN contested all seats and won three.

Although BN is aligned with PH at the federal level, they are rivals at the state level in Johor and Melaka.

Observers have said that the Johor state assembly dissolution will likely spark a series of state polls in the coming months, not just in Negeri Sembilan, but also Melaka and Perlis.

On Wednesday, Perlis state ruler Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail said he wants Chief Minister Abu Bakar Hamzah to continue leading until the end of the 15th assembly, stressing that political stability would affect investors' confidence in the state.

Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin called on state assemblymen to put the people’s interests over personal interests, expressing hope that Abu Bakar would be given space to lead till the end of his term.

"I would like to remind all the Honourable Members that this government is my government. Therefore, I hope that the chief minister will be given the space to continue leading … without any disruptions that will hinder all the plans," he told the legislative assembly.

His comments come amid tensions between main PN component parties Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), after eight PN state assemblymen - five from Bersatu and three from PAS - withdrew support for former Perlis chief minister Shukri Ramlil in December last year, citing corruption in several large state projects.

Abu Bakar, who is from Bersatu, later succeeded Shukri in what was described as an effort conspired by Bersatu to oust PAS and install their own chief minister.

On May 23,  Abu Bakar said he would dissolve the state assembly if six PAS assemblymen table a no confidence vote against him.

Meanwhile, Melaka’s state election is due by February 2027. Separately, the current term for the Sarawak legislative assembly ends in February 2027 and a state election must be called by April that year.