N Sembilan nobles take royal dispute to court, seek access to meeting minutes

 

The simmering royal dispute in Negeri Sembilan has taken a legal turn, with its four territorial chieftains dragging the state government to court.

According to legal documents sighted by Malaysiakini, the chieftains filed an originating summons at the Seremban High Court today, seeking to compel the state government and the Council of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and the Ruling Chiefs' (Dewan Keadilan dan Undang) to release the minutes of an April 17 meeting.

This is in relation to the council's special sitting, where a decision was supposedly reached unanimously to approve the sacking of Sungai Ujong chieftain Mubarak Thahak.

The plaintiffs comprise the Undang Luak of Jelebu, Maarof Mat Rashad, Muhammad Abdullah (Johol), Abd Rahim Yassin (Rembau), and Mubarak, together with the tunku besar of Tampin, Tunku Syed Razman Tunku Syed Idrus Al-Qadri; and Sungai Ujong’s datuk syahbandar Badarudin Abdul Khalid.

In their filing, the six want the court to declare that as council members, they are entitled to a copy of the meeting minutes.

They are also seeking the court to compel the defendants to furnish them with the special sitting meeting minutes within seven days, and "an order to suspend the implementation of any enforcement by the defendants in relation to the decision of the special sitting".

The nobles named the Negeri Sembilan government, the council, and the council's secretary Raja Norazli Raja Nordin as the defendants.

According to the document, the case is set to be heard on May 13.

The April 17 sitting was central to the ongoing royal dispute, which led to the chieftains' retaliatory sacking of Negeri Sembilan ruler Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir last month.

This came as the chieftains, otherwise known as Undang Yang Empat, and Tunku Syed Razman denied a claim by Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun that the council recommended Mubarak be terminated as the Sungai Ujong undang, citing 33 reasons of customary violations to support the action.

They also called Aminuddin "a liar" and called for members of the Negeri Sembilan state assembly to remove the menteri besar from office. - Mkini