Tuanku Muhriz no longer Negeri Sembilan ruler, says state exco

 The Negeri Sembilan executive council says Tuanku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar is the state’s new Yang Dipertuan Besar.

The four purported undangs announced Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir’s removal as Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan at a press conference in April. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir’s removal as Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan in April was legitimate, says the Negeri Sembilan executive council.

In a statement, the council said Tuanku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar was therefore the new ruler of Negeri Sembilan.

FMT has reached out to menteri besar Ismail Lasim to confirm the statement.

It said the council, chaired by Ismail, convened yesterday and collectively decided that the April 19 proclamation for the removal of Tuanku Muhriz had been signed and sealed by the duly constituted and incumbent undangs.

“The proclamation was also signed by the menteri besar on Aug 3, thereby rendering the proclamation complete in accordance with Article 10(2) of the Negeri Sembilan constitution,” it said.

The state executive council also said that the proclamation of Tunku Nadzaruddin as the new Yang Dipertuan Besar was valid and properly made under the Negeri Sembilan constitution.

“The state government shall take immediate steps to implement the decisions set out in this announcement,” it said. 

This comes two days after the Negeri Sembilan Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU) maintained that Tuanku Muhriz remains the state’s ruler and that the latest attempt to remove him earlier this month was invalid.

At a press conference with three other undangs in April, the purported Sungai Ujong undang Mubarak Dohak announced the removal of Tuanku Muhriz as state ruler.

Two months later, Tuanku Nadzaruddin was proclaimed as the 12th Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan in a ceremony at a five-star hotel in Melaka.

Last week, the four purported undangs produced a proclamation to remove Tuanku Muhriz as Yang Dipertuan Besar, signed by Ismail.

Ismail however said he was coerced into signing the proclamation, maintaining that the document was invalid. However, a lawyer representing the four purported Negeri Sembilan chieftains disputed Ismail’s claim, describing it as a mere afterthought.

The DKU on Monday said it had instructed its secretary to file a police report over a statement by the Secretariat of the Four Undangs calling on the state administration to comply with a proclamation to remove the state ruler. -  FMT