INTERVIEW | Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun has been dared to release the minutes of an April 17 meeting, during which he claimed a unanimous decision was made to sack the current undang (chieftain) of the Sungai Ujong luak (territory).
Hanafi Ruzlan, who is the private secretary to Undang Mubarak Thahak, said the chieftain’s office had requested the state government to disclose the records from the meeting of the Negeri Sembilan Council of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and the Ruling Chiefs (Dewan Keadilan dan Undang).
“(However), we could not get the minutes despite having asked for the document.
“Where are the April 17 meeting minutes that say all who were present had agreed (to the sacking)? Show us the proof,” he pressed in an interview with Malaysiakini yesterday.
“If what is recorded in the minutes is different from what really happened, that would be dangerous,” Hanafi warned.
Malaysiakini has contacted Aminuddin (above) and is awaiting a response.
In an April 20 letter, the four chieftains known as the Undang Yang Empat, together with another noble, the Tunku Besar Tampin, accused Aminuddin of lying when he said the council had confirmed Mubarak’s dismissal.
They claimed that during the meeting, the council members had not reached any decision.
Former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Rais Yatim also claimed that during the council meeting, the undangs of Johol, Jelebu, and Rembau, as well as the Tunku Besar Tampin, had disagreed with Mubarak’s removal.
As such, Rais argued that this makes Mubarak's removal invalid. According to Hanafi, Mubarak was also never given a chance to address the allegations levelled against him, including purported breaches of Islamic law and customs.
Ibu soko singled out
Hanafi also questioned the council’s decision to accept a move to sack Mubarak based on the account of only one ibu soko (female tribal elder), whose status has been disputed.
According to him, only a council of the datuk lembaga can decide on the removal of an undang, while those who hold the title of ibu soko hold no such power.
The datuk lembaga are customary authorities in all luak, empowered to appoint an undang according to lineage, conditions, and the rights of each perut (subclan).
Hanafi claimed that only one ibu soko was behind the move to dismiss Mubarak, while the others, and all datuk lembaga in Sungai Ujong, are in support of the chieftain.
The chieftain’s office has since submitted the leaders’ statutory declarations to the council and Aminuddin’s office, the aide added.
Hanafi further said the menteri besar’s office has yet to respond to a letter sent by the Undang Yang Empat regarding their decision to sack Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as ruler and replace him with Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar.
“We sent a letter on Tuesday (April 21) evening regarding the declaration on Article 10 and Article 11 (of the Negeri Sembilan constitution), but until now, we have not been informed whether (the menteri besar) has rejected or accepted (the document).
“We have instructed the menteri besar to settle this issue (regarding Tuanku Muhriz’s sacking and the appointment of his successor), but from (Aminuddin’s) side, there has been no response or moves to handle this,” the aide claimed.
Article 10(1) of the Negeri Sembilan constitution states that the Undang Yang Empat can remove the Yang di-Pertuan Besar if “His Highness has done any overt act detrimental to the sanctity, honour, and dignity of a Yang di-Pertuan Besar”, among other reasons.
Questions over due process
Aminuddin previously deemed the chieftains’ declaration removing Tuanku Muhriz from the throne as invalid due to Mubarak having been sacked earlier.
The state constitution, however, stipulates that a decision can be made by at least three undangs, or by however many are alive at the time of the decision.
Certain quarters have also questioned whether the chieftains had followed due process, including granting Tuanku Muhriz’s right to be heard according to the principles of natural justice.
Former Court of Appeal judge Hishamudin Yunus and constitutional lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar opined that the chieftains’ proclamation may be invalid as Aminuddin had not been a party to the decision.
However, Hanafi claimed the menteri besar had opted against attending the April 19 reading of the two proclamations on the Yang di-Pertuan Besar position, despite the Johol undang, Muhammad Abdullah, sending an invitation.
“We wanted witnesses representing the state government when the Undang Yang Empat made its proclamations, but we were told that he (Aminuddin) could not make it,” the aide added.
During the reading of the proclamations, which was livestreamed, the Undang Yang Empat claimed their decision to sack Tuanku Muhriz came after they launched an investigation into the royal on March 5 for alleged transgressions in his royal duties.
They deemed the unspecified transgressions to have been committed deliberately, thus besmirching the royal institution.
State assembly postponed
Commenting on Tuanku Muhriz’s continued presence as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar despite the chieftains’ earlier decision, Hanafi insisted that Aminuddin must tender his resignation for supposedly failing to implement the undangs’ ruling.
“When the Undang Yang Empat has already issued a declaration and the situation becomes like this, he (Aminuddin) must resign,” Hanafi said.
The aide declined to comment on Tuanku Muhriz’s officiating speech at the opening of this year’s first state legislative assembly meeting, as he did not tune in for the ruler’s address.
Assembly speaker MK Ibrahim Abd Rahman has since confirmed that the sitting will be postponed until further notice due to the ongoing royal dispute in the state.
The night before the sitting, the chieftains had urged Aminuddin to postpone the ceremony, which they boycotted, until a new ruler was properly installed. - Mkini
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