SEREMBAN: Barisan Nasional has emerged as the biggest winner in Negri Sembilan, securing the mandate to form the state’s next government together with Perikatan Nasional, which the coalition has joined forces with for this polls.
Together, they won 25 out of the 36 seats, surpassing the 24 seats needed for a two-thirds majority and above the 19-seat simple majority needed to form the government.
At press time, the unofficial results showed Barisan’s triumph in 18 seats, followed by Pakatan Harapan with 11 and Perikatan Nasional seven.
The result marks a significant turnaround for Barisan, which won 14 seats in the 2023 state polls when it subsequently formed the state government with Pakatan under the unity government arrangement.
Yesterday’s polls saw Umno clinching 16 seats for Barisan with MCA capturing two seats.
One of MCA’s seats was won by Negri Sembilan MCA Youth chief John Siow Kong Choon, the giant slayer who seized the Chennah constituency from DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke who had held it since 2013.
Within Pakatan, DAP won nine seats while PKR took two.
The outcome was shaped by several closely watched battlegrounds, with Chennah, Sikamat, Linggi, Klawang, Labu, Paroi and Gemas among the constituencies capturing the most attention throughout the campaign.
Over at Rantau, Barisan deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan retained the seat with a comfortable margin.
The spotlight was on Linggi too, where Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, who is state Pakatan chairman, lost to Barisan’s Datuk Mohd Faizal Ramli in a three-cornered fight which involved Datuk Zamri Md Said of Bersatu as well.
Bersatu also lost all the 24 seats it contested.
Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias is expected to be Barisan’s choice for Mentri Besar, with party leaders expected to meet before submitting their nominee to the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan.
At Wisma Umno last night, the mood was ecstatic where Barisan party leaders got together since 6pm to observe the results that trickled in.
Among those in the jubilant crowd were Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
Others present were PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, Pendang MP Datuk Awang Hashim of PAS and Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud, as well as Parti Wawasan Negara founder Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
Election Commission figures showed voter turnout reached 65.38% as at 4pm yesterday.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Dr Azmi Hassan said Barisan’s positive momentum in Johor had carried over to Negri Sembilan.
“It shows that Barisan is on the rise and something is not right with Pakatan,” he said.
Azmi also said the results of the Negri Sembilan polls, along with Johor, showed that the people wanted a stable government.
It also means that Barisan could cooperate with Perikatan in the pending Melaka state polls, he said.
“Most probably, during the 16th General Election, Barisan will go solo, but cooperating with Perikatan,” he added.
Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said the Barisan victory, achieved with Perikatan’s support, would confirm that the Johor momentum was not merely a southern phenomenon.
“It would suggest that Barisan has successfully converted Malay electoral realignment into seat gains, while benefiting from a more coordinated opposition strategy.
“More importantly, it would strengthen Ahmad Zahid’s argument that the Barisan-Perikatan electoral understanding can overcome the vote-splitting problem and challenge Pakatan’s hold in mixed seats,” he said.
Sivamurugan said the Barisan-Perikatan arrangement in Negri Sembilan would create a new political reality where cooperation at the state level could coexist with a different configuration at the federal level.
But he said this is not the beginning of a formal Barisan-Perikatan pact.
“It is likely to be issue-based and electoral cooperation first, particularly if Bersatu remains outside the arrangement,” he said.
“The bigger implication is that the boundaries between government and opposition could become increasingly fluid ahead of the 16th General Election,” he added.
Universiti Malaya socio-political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the victory by Barisan and Perikatan showed that their electoral understanding had consolidated a substantial portion of the Malay vote while allowing Barisan to remain competitive in mixed constituencies.
