Nga, who is also minister of housing and local government, had accused the higher education ministry of being “slow like turtle” over allowing holders of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) to enter public universities, a long-standing issue sensitive to the ethnic Chinese community.
Zambry, who is the higher education minister, then said Nga’s remark was an “irresponsible statement” by a fellow cabinet member.
UEC is awarded by independent Chinese-medium schools in Malaysia. While it is recognised by many top international universities and local private colleges, it is not recognised by the Malaysian government for entry into public universities or the civil service.
During the Johor election campaign, Nga had also earlier said that he would resign from his party post if BN won more than 40 seats in the Johor polls.
Nga has since sought to clarify that his resignation pledge was conditional on former prime minister Najib Razak being released without serving a sentence commensurate with his offences.
Following BN’s resounding victory, UMNO Youth chief Akmal Saleh took to Facebook to urge the DAP deputy chairman to honour his promise, adding that he was prepared to “help draft the resignation letter”.
“The stability (of the unity government) will depend on the leadership discipline of Zahid Hamidi and Anwar Ibrahim in separating state-level competition from federal cooperation,” Awang Azman told CNA.
Analysts said that all eyes will now be on whether PH and Anwar can recover in Negeri Sembilan, framing it as the “next major test” that could determine the timeline for the next general election, which is due by February 2028.
“PH has lost its momentum while UMNO has momentum for Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. Unless he (Anwar) can reverse the result of Negeri Sembilan amid the royal dispute, he may be in trouble,” said Chin of the University of Tasmania.
Melaka state polls are due by early 2027, but CNA previously reported that BN, which rules the state government, could call for an election in the second half of 2026.
Unlike in Johor, Negeri Sembilan is jointly run by BN and PH, replicating the power-sharing model of the federal unity government.
The upcoming Negeri Sembilan election will also take place against the backdrop of an ongoing dispute involving the state’s royal institution, which has also strained ties between BN and PH.
Its 36-seat assembly now comprises 17 assemblypersons from PH, 14 from UMNO and five from PN.
BN’s Zahid has said that it will be contesting the election on its own after PH declared it would field candidates in all 36 seats.
Adib of Viewfinder said that the timing of Malaysia’s next general election may depend on how PH fares in the state.
“If PH does not do well in Negeri Sembilan or loses the state to BN, we can expect the general election to be held only next year just to make sure BN’s momentum and the excitement generated by the state elections have faded,” he said.
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