SOCIAL media posts defending Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ismail Lasim have ‘emerged’ following a public dressing-down by Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.
The posts focus on Ismail’s alleged composure during the exchange, while questioning the ruler’s conduct inside a mosque area.
The debate follows a viral video in which Tuanku Muhriz is heard telling off Ismail over a letter that the ruler said disputed his position.
“Am I not the Tuanku?” Tuanku Muhriz asked in the viral recording yesterday.
“You said in the letter I’m not the Tuanku. Now am I not the Tuanku? Am I not?” he is heard saying, before telling Ismail not to come and see him. The Menteri Besar responds, “Pardon me, Tuanku.”
The footage appears to show the exchange taking place after Friday prayers, although it does not establish the full circumstances leading to the confrontation or identify the document being discussed.
The incident comes amid a prolonged dispute over the Negeri Sembilan throne, including a proclamation dated April 19 that purported to remove Tuanku Muhriz as Yang di-Pertuan Besar and replace him with Tuanku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar.
The legitimacy of the proclamation and the procedures governing the state’s traditional succession have been disputed, placing the positions of those involved under scrutiny.
Against that backdrop, critics argue that focusing on whether Tuanku Muhriz raised his voice or whether Ismail remained composed risks diverting attention from the substance of the royal dispute.
The question, they say, is not simply how the two men behaved during the exchange, but what prompted the confrontation and the circumstances surrounding the letter referred to by the ruler.
The similar messages appearing across social media have also prompted questions about whether the focus on Ismail’s demeanour is overshadowing the wider controversy.
Ismail’s role in the wider dispute remains a matter of scrutiny, while the absence of a prominent public defence from UMNO’s top leadership has drawn attention to the political position of the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar.
Party insiders revealed that the UMNO leadership has remained silent as there may be a hidden agenda to remove Ismail as the MB to make way for a ‘more favoured’ leader. – October 17, 2026