Bertemu pengundi pilihan raya Negeri Sembilan

During the final days before the Negeri Sembilan general election on August 1, 2026, I accompanied a group of UPM, UKM, and UIA students to the grounds for structured meetings and focused group discussions. As we know, the National Front (PN) and Barisan Nasional formed the government, and they successfully defeated the alliance of Pakatan Harapan (PH), including Aminuddin Harun of Linggi and DAP Deputy Chief Anthony Loke of Chennah.

Five focus group discussions took place between June 15 and July 30, 2026. My students focused on young voters under the age of 30, noting that nearly half of Negeri Sembilan's voters fit this demographic. I did not focus on age as a factor. This research was conducted for the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Singapore and will be published soon.

By considering the campaign's context, our inquiry also encompassed the crisis of leadership in Adat Perpatih and questions involving former Deputy Speaker Johol and Negeri Sembilan Yang Di-Pertuan, Tuanku Muhriz. Our field study took place in Tampin, Port Dickson, Seremban, Labu, Senawang, Repah, Gemas, Paroi, Seri Menanti, Sikamat, Lenggeng, Seremban Jaya, Repah, Rantau, and Linggi.

Numerous small factors contributed to the success of BN and PN in Negeri Sembilan, including clear communication via social media (such as a song in Negeri Sembilan dialect on TikTok) and the use of artists and celebrities like Anne Ngasri from Labu or Asma Harun from Lenggeng. I concluded that the defeat of Pakatan Harapan in Negeri Sembilan was due to three main points.

First, the political mudslinging by PH opponents. I have many stories about this but suffice to share one. At a restaurant in Enstek, two middle-aged men approached my student group and, without engaging in conversation, spent time watching short videos on TikTok or YouTube. The audio was unclear, but it sounded like a Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speech.

When the men spoke, one said, "See this video... (Unable to determine which video they were watching, but the Prime Minister's voice could be heard faintly)." The other responded, "Which video? This kid here, his dad must have a lot of money in America. The FBI is looking into it." The second point involved the discourse with female Gen Z voters.

Out of 60 respondents, 36 were women. It was notable that only one female voter truly understood the political issues discussed during the campaign. Interestingly, in Negeri Sembilan, national issues generally dominated over local or regional matters. This was different from Johor during the PRN campaign. This might be because Negeri Sembilan is close to the Kuala Lumpur-Klang Valley and absorbed national issues.

In areas like Labu or Senawang, we often found civil servants working in Kuala Lumpur or Putrajaya. We also found it easy to locate Negeri Sembilan voters who worked in Seremban, Nilai, or Senawang but came from the same district or city. For example, Aeon Seremban 2 workers were from Pilah or Repah and commuted daily. This shows the employment opportunities in Negeri Sembilan are extensive, and few foreigners were encountered.

Despite these two phenomena, female Gen Z voters we encountered seemed poorly informed about current issues. All, except one, knew PRN occurred because BN withdrew support for unity government due to dissatisfaction with Aminuddin's handling of the Adat Perpatih crisis.