Yang Dipertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir’s recent dismissal of the entire executive council has left Negeri Sembilan in limbo.
Menteri besar Ismail Lasim has been left to run the administration alone, relying on civil servants to keep the machinery of government moving.
At the Aug 1 state election, Barisan Nasional won 18 of the 36 state assembly seats on offer, one short of an outright simple majority—and was only propped up by support from PAS.
Initially, Jalaluddin Alias—the man who led Umno’s withdrawal of support for the previous administration—was tipped to take over as MB. However, it was Ismail who was sworn in, with Jalaluddin overlooked even for a seat on the 10-man exco lineup.
