Royal Council declares Tuanku Muhriz still Negeri Sembilan ruler, proclamation invalid

SHAH ALAM - The Negeri Sembilan Royal Council (DKU) has affirmed that Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir remains the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, declaring a proclamation seeking his removal invalid.

The DKU secretary said the decision was made during a special sitting held in Seri Menanti here on Sunday, stressing that no valid process had resulted in Tuanku Muhriz ceasing to hold the position.

“No valid process has ever caused His Royal Highness to cease holding the position. The Dewan does not recognise any vacancy and does not recognise any other person as holding the position.

“There can be no replacement as long as the position is lawfully held,” it said in a statement on Monday.

DKU said the proclamation dated April 19 was invalid under the Constitution because three of the four individuals who signed it did not hold the position of Undang according to the customs of their respective Luak at the time.

It said Article 10(1) of the Constitution of the State of Negeri Sembilan (UUTKNS) 1959 required a full and complete inquiry before the Undang could call upon the Yang di-Pertuan Besar to step down or relinquish the position.

“That condition is mandatory. No such inquiry was ever conducted, nothing was ever brought before the Dewan and His Royal Highness was never given notice or an opportunity to be heard.

“The April 19 proclamation was defective from the outset,” the statement said.

The Dewan said the Menteri Besar who was in office at the time refused to sign the proclamation on April 20 under Article 10(2) of the UUTKNS 1959, citing the failure to fulfil the requirements under Article 10 and the fact that one of the signatories was not an Undang.

“With that refusal, the function of the Menteri Besar under Article 10(2) of the UUTKNS 1959 had already been exercised and, as such, the proclamation lapsed and became void.

“The only thing alleged to have happened was that a new Menteri Besar signed the same proclamation. That act did not remedy anything.

“A new Menteri Besar cannot re-exercise a function that has already been exercised. Otherwise, every change of Menteri Besar would revive the same proclamation and the matter would never end,” it said.

DKU also said media announcements dated Sept 5 and 8, had no effect because they were based on the April 19 proclamation, which it described as defective and expired, as well as an instrument dated Aug 3 that did not affect the proclamation's validity.

It further determined that actions carried out in the name of an office that was not lawfully held had no effect under custom.

“At present, the position of Undang Luak Sungei Ujong is held by Dato' Klana Petra Muhammad Faris bin Johari; Undang Luak Rembau, Dato' Sedia Raja Haji Hassan Ab Hamid; and Undang Luak Johol, Dato' Johan Pahlawan Lela Perkasa Setiawan Dato' Hail Muhammed Abdullah.

“The positions of Undang Luak Jelebu and Dato' Shahbandar Sungei Ujong are vacant,” the statement said.

The DKU also described the signing of a Sept 5 document by six individuals as an act of disobedience under custom and law, citing that four of them did not hold the respective positions, while the document sought to remove the Yang di-Pertuan Besar without an inquiry under Article 10(1) of the UUTKNS 1959.

The Dewan also said the individuals had misused the titles of the positions and issued unlawful instructions to Government officers.

As a result, the Dewan decided that Government officers were not required to act on instructions based on the document and should continue to recognise Tuanku Muhriz as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.

“The Secretary of the Dewan shall convey the Dewan's decision to the Menteri Besar, State Secretary and State Legal Adviser, so that the Menteri Besar and the State Government can take the appropriate steps to implement it.

“The Secretary of the Dewan shall lodge a police report regarding the actions of the six individuals. The police report is a complaint to enable an investigation by the authorities,” it added.

On the proposed Reconciliation Committee under the state government, the DKU said there was no justification for its establishment if its jurisdiction covered matters relating to custom.

The Dewan also urged all parties not to spread unfounded allegations concerning the institution of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and the institution of the Undang, stressing that they belonged to neither political parties nor individuals.