While officiating the Road Safety Congress 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, the President of UMNO and Chairman of BN reportedly said he has advised the coalition’s 18 assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan that they must separate matters on the royal institution, which are legal issues from matters concerning the administration of the state government and focus on serving the people.
This statement gives the clearest indication that UMNO is not backing down in the Negeri Sembilan political and royal standoff.
The 18 assemblymen were voted in by the people of Negeri Sembilan.
The Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz, swore in 10 of these assemblymen as Executive Councillors.
Subsequently later, Tuanku Muhriz officially revoked the appointments of 10 state executive councillors for breaching their oath of office and loyalty by participating in or agreeing to a decision on September 15, 2026, that recognized the removal of Tuanku Muhriz.
Under Article XXXVIII(5) (or Article 38(5)) of the Laws of the Constitution of Negeri Sembilan 1959, Exco members (excluding the Menteri Besar) hold office at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
Even the top lawyer in the country, the Attorney General confirmed that the revocation is constitutionally valid.
While these 10 individuals lost their executive, administrative decision-making powers as government ministers, they still remain elected assemblymen for their respective seats and hold a mandate to serve their voters.
The state currently has no functional executive council (Exco), halting standard governance, policy approvals, and budgetary decisions.
The ball is actually in UMNO’s courts.
UMNO holds the key to solving and breaking the impasse in Negeri Sembilan currently.
The Menteri Besar who is from UMNO himself steps down to allow a neutral figure to present himself to the Yang di Pertuan Besar as the assemblymen that commands the support of a majority of the assemblymen.
Yes, there will be a lot of argument against such a simplistic solution and the matter is much more complicated than for the Menteri Besar to resign.
But at least removing the Menteri Besar whom the Yang di Pertuan Besar has rebuked in public is like the thorn that is lodged in the foot that hampers the mobility of both sides in moving forward.
As long as the current Menteri Besar remains in office, his presence acts exactly like that "thorn in the foot"—deepening the injury to palace-government relations and paralyzing any chance of moving forward.
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