KUALA PILAH: Lenggeng state assemblyman Datuk Mohd Asna Amin has denied claims that he was not present at the swearing-in ceremony of the Negri Sembilan's Mentri Besar at Istana Besar Seri Menanti on Sunday (Aug 2).
Through a post on his social media account, Mohd Asna asked a newspaper to correct a news story claiming that he was not present at the ceremony.
He said the newspaper report claiming that he did not attend the ceremony could create a negative perception.
"I did attend the Mentri Besar's swearing-in ceremony.
"I hope the report stating that I was absent will be corrected," he said.
Mohd Asna said he received the invitation to attend the ceremony at about 1am via a WhatsApp message sent by the Mayor.
He said some assemblymen might have missed the ceremony because they did not notice the message or were already exhausted.
"When reports like this emerge, it gives the impression that we did not support the new Mentri Besar," he said.
Earlier, a newspaper reported that several seats reserved for assemblymen were not filled, including two candidates for mentri besar of Negri Sembilan, namely Pertang assemblyman Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias and the Lenggeng assemblyman.
On Sunday (Aug 2), Juasseh assemblyman Datuk Ismail Lasim was sworn in as the new Mentri Besar of Negri Sembilan.
The 67-year-old veteran Umno politician, who is also Kuala Pilah Umno chief, was sworn in before Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir at Istana Besar Seri Menanti.
In Saturday's (Aug 1) election, he defeated Pakatan Harapan's Mohd Aidil Abdullah and Bersatu's Mohd Zuhaimi Md Yusof in a three-cornered fight.
Ismail secured 6,907 votes against 2,816 obtained by Mohd Aidil and 506 won by Mohd Zuhaimi.
Barisan and Perikatan Nasional secured a majority of the seats in the Negri Sembilan state polls.
The Election Commission's official results showed Barisan won 18 seats, with Umno securing 16 and MCA two, while Perikatan won seven seats, comprising four won by PAS and three by Wawasan.
Pakatan won 11 seats, with DAP taking nine and PKR the remaining two.
