Who Appoints the Menteri Besar After the Negeri Sembilan Election?
BN-PN won 25 of 36 seats and submitted three names to Tuanku Muhriz. This article covers constitutional steps between the result and the next Menteri Besar.
Negeri Sembilan voted on 1 August 2026 in the 16th state election. The Election Commission announced the official results shortly after midnight: Barisan Nasional won 18 seats, Perikatan Nasional 7, and Pakatan Harapan 11, giving the BN-PN alliance 25 of the 36 seats, above both the 19-seat simple majority and the 24-seat two-thirds threshold (FMT, 1 August 2026,Bernama, 2 August 2026).
With the results declared, Article 36 is the provision through which the next government formally comes into being.
The sequence now in motion runs in four steps:
The caretaker period. The outgoing Executive Council continues in a caretaker role until a new Menteri Besar is appointed. The Constitution sets no deadline for this period, as noted above.
The judgment. The Ruler forms a view, under Article 38(2)(a), on which member of the newly elected Assembly is likely to hold the confidence of at least 19 of its 36 members. With the BN-PN alliance holding 25 seats, the arithmetic answers most of the question.
The Instrument. The appointment takes effect through the formal document Article 36(1) requires: an Instrument under the Ruler’s Sign Manual and State Seal.
The rest of the Executive Council. The newly appointed Menteri Besar then advises on the appointment of between four and ten other members under Article 38(2)(b).
The first step toward the judgment came within hours of the results.
On the night of polling day, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi menghadap (presented himself in audience before) the Yang di-Pertuan Besar, Tuanku Muhriz, and handed over an official letter containing three names for the post of Menteri Besar, all of them from BN. Zahid said the Ruler holds absolute discretion in appointing the new Menteri Besar from the submitted list, that he had received the Ruler's consent to set up a new government, and that the palace will announce the chosen candidate in due course (The Star, 2 August 2026).
That procedure matches the constitutional design: the coalition proposes, and the judgment under Article 38(2)(a), followed by the Instrument under Article 36(1), belongs to the Ruler.
The question of before whom the oath would be taken had circulated throughout the campaign. In replies to this publication’s posts, several users asked a version of the same thing:
Translation: “Sorry to ask. If BN wins the state election, will they take the oath of office before the current Yang di-Pertuan Besar, or wait for a different one?”
Translation: “Want to see who the incoming Negeri Sembilan MB will take his oath in front of later on…”
Social media posts of this kind are illustrative of questions circulating during the campaign rather than a measure of wider opinion.
The question travelled beyond social media. Malaysiakini reported on polling day that rumours had circulated suggesting that, in the event of a BN victory, the swearing-in would be held before Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar, whom the organisers of the rival proclamation have named as Yang di-Pertuan Besar, at Istana Serting in Bahau rather than Seri Menanti (Malaysiakini, 1 August 2026).
Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan denied the speculation, saying, in remarks carried by Utusan Malaysia, that it was a narrative aimed at turning voters against BN, and that he knew of no such plan. The same report carried lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali’s view that the new Menteri Besar must take the oath before Tuanku Muhriz, since the Seremban High Court’s injunction preserves the status quo and Tuanku Muhriz approved the dissolution of the Assembly that made the election possible (Malaysiakini, 1 August 2026).
Under Article 39, a member of the State Executive Council, which includes the Menteri Besar, may only sit or vote after taking the oath before “His Highness”, defined by Article 34 as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar, elected in accordance with Article 7.
One further layer sits underneath the word “Ruler” in that sequence. The appointment of a Menteri Besar is listed in Article 40(2)(a) as a discretionary function, and Article 28(2) defines “Ruler” for those functions as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar together with at least three of the four Undangs, or at least two where only three Undangs hold office. The arithmetic in Article 28(2) therefore depends on who lawfully holds the office of Undang at the time the appointment is made.
That headcount moved on the eve of polling. The Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU) met on 31 July, chaired by Tuanku Muhriz, and issued an official statement the following day. The DKU acknowledged the unanimous decision of the Waris, Anak Buah and Ibu Soko Waris Berundang of the Luak of Jelebu, drawn from the three Perut Kemin, to remove Maarof Mat Rashad as Undang of Luak Jelebu for offences against Adat, with effect from 31 May 2023, and declared the office vacant.
The DKU also affirmed the 27 June appointments of Muhammad Faris Johari as Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong and Raja Hassan Ab Hamid as Undang of Luak Rembau, maintained that removed Undang Mubarak ceased to hold office, and stated that Abdul Rahim Yasin’s appointment as Undang of Luak Rembau was never completed.
Removal of an Undang is a customary act of the Luak, which the DKU acknowledges under Article 16, and under Article 16(3) the DKU’s advice on such questions is final.
Three Undangs hold office at the time of the next Menteri Besar's appointment, the Undangs of Sungei Ujong, Rembau and Johol, with Jelebu vacant. The second limb of Article 28(2) therefore applies: the Yang di-Pertuan Besar together with at least two of the three.
The campaign ended with competing narratives about where the oath would be taken and before whom. The Constitution, however, leaves little room for uncertainty. Once the election produced a result, the machinery established by Articles 28, 36, 38, and 39 determines the next steps.
By the early morning after polling day, the coalition's audience with Tuanku Muhriz reflected that constitutional sequence already unfolding.
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Sources:
Lawyer: New N Sembilan MB must take oath before Tuanku Muhriz (Malaysiakini, 1 August 2026)
Trio who ‘removed’ Tuanku Muhriz not undangs then, says DKU (Free Malaysia Today, 1 August 2026)
Official Results: Negeri Sembilan Polls 2026 (Bernama, 2 August 2026)
Three names submitted for Negri Mentri Besar post (The Star, 2 August 2026)
Anak Nogori is independent commentary on the unfolding constitutional crisis in Negeri Sembilan, where centuries-old Adat Perpatih, royal succession law, and modern political manoeuvring are colliding in ways Malaysia has never seen before. If you find this useful, share it with someone who should be following this, or subscribe to receive the latest articles in your inbox.
