Hanifah, the Labu assemblyman, said his decision followed careful consideration of the people’s interests and the need to maintain political stability in Negeri Sembilan.

He said it was apparent that the central Umno leadership’s stand on the crisis was not consistent with its Negeri Sembilan chapter’s, Sinar Harian reported.

“The approach being taken (by the Negeri Sembilan chapter) appears to prioritise party interests over the people’s overall interests,” he was quoted as saying.

Earlier today, fellow Bersatu assemblyman Ridzuan Ahmad  backed down from pushing for a change in the state government, saying this could trigger political instability and affect the economy.

This prompted Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh to ask if this was the unified stand being taken by Perikatan Nasional. He also questioned if this meant Bersatu was willing to support the unity government at the federal level.

On Saturday, state BN chief Jalaluddin Alias took responsibility for the crisis but said the withdrawal of support for menteri besar Aminuddin Harun was necessary to steer members back to Umno’s core struggle.

He also said the 14 Umno assemblymen were prepared to assume the role of the opposition until the next state election.

Before that, Negeri Sembilan BN claimed it had the numbers to form a new state government, with the backing of PN’s five assemblymen. A simple majority of 19 assemblymen is needed to form the government.

Besides Hanifah and Ridzuan, the other three PN assemblymen are from PAS.