Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) confirmed on August 8 it will contest the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election using its own party logo for all 24 declared candidates, including two from the United for the Rights of Malaysians Party who will run under Bersatu’s banner [1]. The election is scheduled for August 1, with nomination day on July 18 and early voting set for July 28 [1, 2, 3].
Bersatu's decision followed the indefinite postponement of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Seat Negotiation Committee meeting originally set for July 12, which was to finalize seat allocations for the election. Bersatu was excluded from these discussions and was not invited to the PN Supreme Council meeting that ratified seat decisions [4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin denied that the party voluntarily left PN, attributing the move to exclusion and marginalization by PN coalition partners. Muhyiddin told reporters, "Bersatu was also not invited to attend the PN Supreme Council special meeting, which finalised the seat allocation among PN component parties. So why is Bersatu being accused of acting ahead of the meeting's decision when it was not even invited to attend the meeting?" [8]
Muhyiddin said the Supreme Leadership Council authorized him to approve candidates from other parties contesting under the Bersatu logo, subject to approval, reflecting a degree of independence for the upcoming contest [4, 7, 9]. He added, "For now, Bersatu remains a member of PN. The decision on whether we remain in PN or otherwise will be made after the Negeri Sembilan state election." [4]
In contrast, PN information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa characterized Bersatu’s move as a voluntary departure from PN, describing the party’s contest under its own logo as "choosing to mufarakah (leave a congregation) from Perikatan Nasional (PN)." [9]
Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional (BN) announced 25 candidates for the Negeri Sembilan contest and is cooperating with parties including PAS, which confirmed it would not interfere with Bersatu's logo decision [3, 4, 2, 7]. PAS leader Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said, "Bersatu's decision to use its own logo in Negri Sembilan is its right, and we will not interfere in the affairs of other parties." [2]
PN plans to contest 11 seats in the 36-seat Negeri Sembilan state assembly, but the coalition’s internal disputes have yet to be resolved. The PN Supreme Council has not convened to discuss coalition policies or its direction ahead of the vote [4, 5, 6, 7, 3].
Muhyiddin also alleged that Umno, another key PN component, conspired to bring down both the previous PN government and the current unity government formed with Pakatan Harapan [10].
Nomination day for the state election was held on July 18, with polling taking place on August 1 as scheduled [1, 2, 3].
