Photos : X / Syahredzan Johan, Young Syefura Othman, Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, Syerleena Abdul Rashid
KUALA LUMPUR, November 11, 2026 — Four DAP leaders have accused the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of being involved in a plot to remove the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, from the throne, and claimed the party has yet to seek the ruler’s forgiveness.
The accusation was made in a joint media statement issued today by DAP national vice-chairman and Bangi Member of Parliament Syahredzan Johan, assistant national publicity secretary and Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman, DAP Central Executive Committee member and senator Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, and Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid.
They claimed UMNO’s involvement in the alleged plot had angered the ruler. Betrayal of the royal institution, they said, “cannot be erased from the annals of history”, even though the UMNO Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan later made a U-turn and again recognised Tuanku Muhriz as the legitimate Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
“The act of challenging the position of, and trying to overthrow, one of the Malay Rulers is an extremely serious matter,” they said. Conduct that did not respect the rule of law, they added, was “a form of treachery that cannot be taken lightly”.
The four leaders said UMNO had still not come forward to seek Tuanku Muhriz’s forgiveness over what they described as the party’s involvement in the plot. “It is already crystal clear who is actually challenging the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers’ institution when an attempt to remove a state ruler was carried out in such an uncivil manner,” they said.
The remarks come against the backdrop of a prolonged dispute over the Negeri Sembilan throne. On September 17, 2026, Bernama reported that the Attorney-General’s Chambers said an April proclamation concerning Tuanku Muhriz’s position was invalid because it did not comply with the Laws of the Constitution of Negeri Sembilan 1959. The AGC also said the Menteri Besar and the State Executive Council did not have unilateral power to depose or vacate the office of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
UMNO has previously denied being involved in the dispute. On October 13, 2026, its secretary-general, Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, said the party had never been involved in, nor interfered with, matters concerning the royal and customary institutions in Negeri Sembilan, according to reports by the New Straits Times and Malaysiakini. No fresh UMNO response to today’s DAP statement had been issued at the time of writing.
In the same statement, the four leaders said DAP respected the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s power of pardon as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. They said the resignation of DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook showed that he respected both His Majesty’s position, as provided in the Constitution, and his own political principles at the same time.
Loke announced on November 6, 2026 that his resignation as Transport Minister would take effect when former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak began house arrest. He later said it took effect on November 10, after the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, The Star and Malay Mail reported.
Rather than being busy accusing Loke, the four leaders said, UMNO’s leadership would do better to first seek Tuanku Muhriz’s forgiveness and take responsibility for resolving the crisis that, they claimed, arose from the party’s own actions.
“Respecting the institution of the Malay Rulers is not a question of who accuses others the loudest, but of who truly respects the Constitution and the rule of law,” they said.
Credit : DAP
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