Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition has suffered another state-level setback, losing control of the government in Negeri Sembilan to two rival political coalitions, a month after a similar defeat in Johor.
In Saturday’s election, the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition won 18 of the 36 seats in the state’s legislative assembly and was set to form government with the pan-Malay Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, which won seven seats. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact, which had ruled Negeri Sembilan in coalition with BN prior to this weekend’s election, won the remaining 11 seats, down from 17.
Speaking on Saturday night, BN Chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the press thanked voters for putting their trust in BN’s candidates and that an electoral understanding between the two coalitions would “result in the formation of a stable government,”
Zahid said the two coalitions would now have further discussions to finalize the formation of the state government before seeking an audience with the state ruler Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.
“Our responsibility begins tonight … the message is clear. The people want stability that has been missed,” Zahid said, as per Channel News Asia.
