Seri menanti: Juasseh State Assemblyman Datuk Ismail Lasim was today sworn in as the new Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan. Ismail, 67, took his oath of office before the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, at the Throne Room of Istana Besar Seri Menanti here at 11.29 am.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the swearing-in ceremony witnessed the presence of the Tunku Ampuan Besar Tuanku Aishah Rohani Tengku Besar Mahmud, Tunku Besar Seri Menanti Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz, and Tunku Panglima Besar Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin Tuanku Muhriz. Other distinguished attendees included the Undang Luak of Sungai Ujong, Datuk Klana Petra Muhammad Faris Johari, and the Undang Luak of Rembau, Datuk Sedia Raja Hassan Ab Hamid. Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and other state elected representatives were also present.

In the recent 16th Negeri Sembilan state election, Ismail secured the Juasseh seat with a majority of 4,091 votes. He amassed a total of 6,907 votes, triumphing over Bersatu's Mohd Zuhaimi Md Yusof and Pakatan Harapan's Mohd Aidil Abdullah, who garnered 506 votes and 2,816 votes, respectively.

The election results declared yesterday showed BN securing 18 seats and Perikatan Nasional (PN) winning seven, enabling the two coalitions to form the state government with a two-thirds majority. The election saw a contest for 36 state seats, with 103 candidates in the fray.

Previously, in the 15th Negeri Sembilan state election, Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 17 state seats, followed by BN with 14 and PN with five, leading to a PH-BN coalition government. The Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly was dissolved on June 5 following BN's withdrawal of support for the leadership of then-Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun on April 27, paving the way for the state election.