Yeo said references to the failed takeover plan amounted to a “tired excuse” to justify destabilising Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Aminuddin Harun’s administration.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” the Puchong MP said in a Facebook post.

“Many who were babies in 2008 are voters today. Are we really telling the next generation that ‘he did it first’ is a valid reason to break a governing pact?”

Khairy had criticised PKR on social media for condemning Negeri Sembilan Umno’s move to declare a loss of confidence in Aminuddin, drawing comparisons with then-opposition leader Anwar’s bid to bring down the BN government in 2008.

“I suggest everyone (especially the younger generation) look up what was supposed to have happened on Sept 16, 2008 to find out who started ‘tebuk atap’ (takeover) politics in Malaysia,” he said.

In September 2008, Anwar claimed he had secured enough defections from BN MPs to form a new federal government, following the general election earlier that year which denied the ruling coalition its two-thirds parliamentary majority.

He set a public deadline of Sept 16, 2008, suggesting a change of government was imminent through defections of ruling coalition MPs..

However, the plan did not materialise. No mass defections occurred to enable a change in government, so the BN administration under then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi remained in power.

On Monday, Negeri Sembilan Umno retracted its support for Aminuddin after citing a loss of confidence in his leadership amid an ongoing crisis involving four chieftains seeking to remove the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, from his position.

PH had earlier described the withdrawal of support as an attempt to take over the state administration.

Its communications director, Fahmi Fadzil, said the coalition regretted the incident and strongly rejected such “acts of betrayal”.