UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail has dismissed claims that BN relied on racial sentiment and identity politics throughout its campaign during the Negeri Sembilan state election.
“I reject the allegation. If it were true that we played the race card, how could an MCA candidate have won in a constituency where the majority of voters are Malays?
The Pahang Menteri Besar described the allegation as illogical and inconsistent with the outcome of the election.
“The Malays still gave their support to the MCA candidate. This clearly proves that we did not resort to racial politics during the campaign,” he reportedly said to Malaysiakini.
According to Wan, the Negeri Sembilan election results showed that voters made their decisions based on the credibility of the candidates and the need for a stable government.
Earlier, PH election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari was reported as saying that identity politics and race-based campaigning were among the factors behind the coalition’s defeat in the state election.
According to Amirudin, those issues overshadowed discussions on PH’s administrative performance and the manifesto it had presented throughout the campaign.
“Unfortunately, the manifesto was not the subject of discussion. Instead, the conversation centred on whether someone was Malay or not Malay, and whether you supported the DAP or not,” said Amirudin.
“I think most of you saw the campaign video yesterday claiming that PH leaders did not know how to recite the syahadah,” he added.
To recap, the Negeri Sembilan state election results saw the BN-PN alliance form the state government after winning 25 of the 36 seats in the State Legislative Assembly.
BN emerged as the largest party with 18 seats, while PN secured seven. PH won the remaining 11 seats.—Aug 3, 2026
Main image: The Star
