'Never wanted a snap state election' in Negeri Sembilan, but no choice given BN's actions: Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that he did not want to call snap state elections in Negeri Sembilan but his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition was left with “no choice” due to the actions of its erstwhile allies in the Barisan Nasional (BN) pact.

He was referring to how 14 state assemblymen of UMNO – a BN lynchpin party – had pulled their support for Negeri Sembilan chief minister Aminuddin Harun, only to backtrack later.

“This is ‘wayang kulit’ (political theatre),” said Anwar when launching the Negeri Sembilan PH election campaign in Seremban on Friday night, as quoted by news outlet Free Malaysia Today.

“We are forced to have an election so that the people can make the choice,” he added.

PH and BN are partners in the federal government.

The two pacts also controlled the Negeri Sembilan state assembly, but ties on the ground have been strained since the move by the 14 UMNO assemblymen on Apr 27 to withdraw their support for Aminuddin over his handling of a crisis involving the state monarchy.

The state assembly was then dissolved on Jun 5, and the snap polls set for Aug 1, more than two years before they are due in November 2028.

“To be frank, I never wanted a snap state election as we have a lot of work to do,” news outlet The Star quoted Anwar as saying.

“However, we had to call for snap polls as we were left with no other option.”

Anwar also reportedly criticised UMNO’s “impatience” behind calls for early polls in Negeri Sembilan and Johor, whose state government still had a year left before BN dissolved it on Jun 1.

BN and PH were also partners in the Johor state assembly but will now face off against each other in the polls scheduled for Jul 11.

"I ask for patience. We have a responsibility to look after the people's welfare ...  This term (of Negeri Sembilan state government) has not even reached three years, yet some are impatient and want to grab power," he said, as quoted by New Straits Times.

"If the federal government ignored Negri Sembilan or Johor, perhaps there would be a reason to be angry. But I have never heard such complaints. So, what exactly are they fighting for?" he asked.

Analysts had previously told CNA that PH’s dissolution of the Negeri Sembilan state legislative assembly was a “tit-for-tat” response to the earlier move by BN in Johor and that the Negeri Sembilan polls would be used by Anwar as a bellwether to gauge voter sentiment and chart PH’s path forward.

Anwar on Friday called on voters in Negeri Sembilan to give PH a fresh mandate in the 16th state election to continue governing the state.

“With that mandate, Tok Min (Aminuddin) can be reappointed as menteri besar (chief minister),” news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.

Aminuddin is also a vice-president in Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Also present at the PH campaign launch on Friday were PH deputy chairman Anthony Loke, PH secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil, as well as other senior coalition leaders.

Anwar also stressed that his administration is focused on improving the welfare of the people.

“To be able to do this, we need (political) stability, not make plans to destablise the government or attempt backdoor governments,” he said.

“I am not interested in hostility. On my right are UMNO leaders, including the deputy prime minister (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi), who is UMNO president. We continue to work together as usual because we care about the people.”

In the coming Negeri Sembilan polls, PH will contest all 36 seats – 16 by PKR, followed by 11 seats by the Democratic Action Party and nine by Amanah.

In the last state polls on Aug 12, 2023, PH and BN joined hands to win 31 out of the 36 seats.

Zahid said on Jun 9 that BN has no choice but to go solo in the upcoming Negeri Sembilan polls after PH announced its intention to contest all 36 state seats.