UMNO won Negeri Sembilan but now three factions vie for power as royal crisis deepens

KUALA LUMPUR – Having reclaimed Negeri Sembilan by forcing snap polls and refusing to endorse the state’s ruler Muhriz Munawir in a months-long palace crisis, UMNO is now divided into three camps all clamouring for the Yang di-Pertuan Besar they tried to depose to back their chief ministerial ambitions.Incumbent Ismail Lasim, who received warm support on Oct 24 as the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional (BN) unveiled its candidates for the Nov 14 vote in neighbouring Melaka, is hoping that Muhriz will allow him to continue if he retracts a Sept 17 statement that the throne was vacated.Meanwhile, top political leaders told The Straits Times that Negeri Sembilan UMNO chief Jalaluddin Alias, who had an audience with Muhriz on Oct 9, is claiming he now has the backing of the majority of the state’s 36 assemblymen.But UMNO president Zahid Hamidi is favouring his own candidate Asna Amin, one of 10 executive councillors – state-level Cabinet ministers – sacked by Muhriz amid the tussle.Having taken flak for being at loggerheads with the royal institution it claims to defend as Malaysia’s founding Malay-Muslim nationalist party, UMNO will want to resolve the stalemate in Negeri Sembilan before Melakans vote, if not before candidates are nominated on Oct 31.UMNO is seeking to retain Melaka by continuing a so-called Malay Unity electoral pact with the opposition Perikatan Nasional, although it remains part of Anwar Ibrahim’s multi-coalition federal administration until the prime minister calls for a general election due by Feb 2028.However, Negeri Sembilan insiders told ST that Muhriz’s stance is that he has already made his choice on Aug 2 after the state polls. Now, it is up to UMNO to decide if it wants to stick or twist in what the Palace views as the party’s self-inflicted turmoil.Three camps vie for successionOfficial sources told ST that all three names were offered for the Yang di-Pertuan Besar’s – also known as Yamtuan – consideration after UMNO’s victory in the Aug 1 election and Ismail, then seen as loyal to Muhriz, was chosen.But just a few days later, he signed a proclamation by rebel chieftains, known as Undang, stating that Muhriz was no longer ruler. Under Negeri Sembilan’s unique Adat Perpatih customary law, the Undang have the power to elect a Yamtuan and dethrone him if he is found unfit to rule according to constitutional guidelines.Although Ismail then filed a police report claiming he was made to sign the declaration under duress, he later confirmed on Sept 17 that his executive council had agreed that Muhriz was no longer Yamtuan.But the state civil service has abided by the federal government’s advice. The Attorney General has insisted that Muhriz was not removed according to the state constitution which provides that a formal inquiry must be convened to establish if there is sufficient cause to elect a new Yamtuan. The Palace retaliated on Sept 20, revoking the appointments of the 10 executive councillors and the state bureaucracy have abided by the decree, leaving Ismail without a functioning state government for over a month.“Ismail is insisting he was merely following orders from the top party leadership,” a source said.On Oct 16, Muhriz publicly rebuked Ismail at a mosque, refusing the menteri besar an audience.“Why has he come today to see me? Until he retracts what he said earlier, go away. Don’t see me, I don’t want to see you. You understand? Am I the Yang di-Pertuan Besar or not? You said I am not.”Roots of the royal crisisThe turmoil in the central Malaysian state began in April when the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU), the highest authority on the Adat Perpatih, affirmed a decision by territorial community leaders to remove their Undang.The four Undang then struck back by dethroning Muhriz, a decision that then chief minister Aminudin Harun, who hails from Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, refused to endorse.This saw UMNO Negeri Sembilan, led by then executive councillor Jalaluddin, withdrawing support for Aminudin, claiming the menteri besar was interfering in royal affairs.Aminudin, left without a majority, dissolved the state legislature in June. At the same time, the Undang also installed Muhriz’s cousin Nadzaruddin Ja’afar as the new Yamtuan.UMNO had vowed during the campaign that it would resolve the palace crisis if it won the election. But in the three months since, the situation has only worsened as legal challenges pile up and the executive council remains unmanned.Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Conference of Rulers – bringing together nine monarchs and four governors – cancelled its June meet due to uncertainty over the Negeri Sembilan throne. Persistent doubts resulted in Muhriz skipping the October meet to preside over the installation of a new Undang that consolidates his position.If UMNO does present a new chief minister to Muhriz, or if Ismail walks back on his statement agreeing to a change of Yamtuan, it would signal the loss of a key political backer for the renegade Undang and Nadzaruddin’s claim to the throne.Sign up for our weekly Asian Insider Malaysia Edition newsletter to make sense of the big stories in Malaysia.