NEGERI Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim’s call for authorities to review an order barring state executive councillors from entering their offices suggests he no longer has full control of the state administration, a former UMNO supreme council member said.
Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi stressed Ismail’s latest position was also at odds with his earlier insistence that the revocation of the state executive councillors’ appointments was invalid.
He was referring to Ismail’s call for an immediate review of the order after the exco members were prevented from entering their offices at Wisma Negeri.
“When he asks the relevant authorities to review the order, it means Ismail admits he no longer has full authority,” Puad said in a statement today.
Ismail had said the review should cover the order allegedly preventing the exco members from carrying out their duties, while ensuring that state administration and public services were not disrupted.
Puad also questioned why an earlier instruction allegedly issued by Ismail to state secretary Datuk Mohd Zafir Ibrahim to gazette the purported removal of Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir was not carried out.
Instead, he said, the revocation of the exco appointments was implemented by the state secretary.
“This further damages the image of the UMNO-led government in Negeri Sembilan. Ismail appears helpless. He has flip-flopped on many matters, whether in his positions, decisions or statements.
“At this point, it would be better for Ismail to keep quiet,” he said.
Puad also questioned what Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had done to resolve the crisis, saying the party leadership needed to intervene.
“As Umno president, he needs to resolve this immediately. The Umno supreme council has remained silent.
“It should push for a special supreme council meeting to discuss the constitutional and adat issues in Negeri Sembilan,” he said.
Puad said UMNO should present the people of Negeri Sembilan with a more concrete way out of the crisis while taking into account the interests of voters who had given the government its mandate in the last state election.
“Find a way out as soon as possible. Do not let Ismail continue answering that he has been ‘overtaken by events’,” he said. – September 26, 2026
