Gazetting the proclamation would be invalid and unconstitutional, says the AGC

SEREMBAN: The Attorney General's Chambers has said the Negeri Sembilan executive council's announcement on the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar carries no legal effect, and that any move to gazette or implement the April 19 proclamation would be invalid and unconstitutional.

"The proclamation dated April 19, 2026 is invalid because it does not comply with the mandatory requirements of Article 10 of the state constitution," the chambers said in a statement on Thursday.

There was no evidence, it said, that the disqualifying factors under Article 10(1) applied to Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.

"An announcement by the state executive council, or any act of gazetting related to the proclamation, has no legal effect," it said, adding that the council holds no constitutional power to gazette or carry out the document.

The undangs do hold the power to move for the removal of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar, the chambers said, but Article 10 also prescribes a procedure, and that procedure was not followed.

It further cited Article 16(3), which places matters of Malay adat, including the selection and removal of the ruler, within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang.

"The matter is before the High Court of Malaya in Seremban, and there is a court order in the form of an interlocutory injunction," it said, urging all parties to respect the court process.

The statement came on the same day the menteri besar, Datuk Ismail Lasim, confirmed that gazetting was already in motion.

"On the gazetting process, the exco has asked the state secretary to proceed with it in accordance with existing regulations," he told a news conference after a graduate awards ceremony in Seremban.

Ismail said the proclamation concerning Tuanku Muhriz's position had been discussed and decided unanimously by all members of the state exco at Tuesday's meeting.

That marks a shift from his September 15 position, when he said the menteri besar had no unilateral authority to determine the ruler's position and that a proclamation's validity had to be measured against the powers, requirements and procedures set out in the state constitution.

The Dewan Keadilan dan Undang issued its own statement on Thursday. Its secretary, Raja Norazli Raja Nordin, said the document titled Decision of the Negeri Sembilan State Executive Council No. 6 of 2026, dated September 16, has no legal effect on either the removal of the ruler or the recognition of a new one.

"The document touches on matters outside the jurisdiction of the state executive council and runs contrary to the binding determinations of the DKU," he said.

Tuanku Muhriz remains the lawful Yang di-Pertuan Besar and president of the council, Raja Norazli said, and there is no vacancy and no successor while the position is lawfully held.

The council repeated its finding that the April 19 proclamation was defective from the outset, because the required inquiry was never held and three of its four signatories did not hold the office of undang on that date.

A sharper note came through lawyers. The firm Halim & Ismail, acting for Raja Norazli and the council, wrote on the night of September 16 to Ismail and the exco members, copying the state secretary and the state legal adviser.

The letter said the announcement was intended to subvert the executive authority of Tuanku Muhriz, and described it as "tantamount to a coup d'etat and an act of treason". It referred to Seremban High Court suit NA-24NCvC-240-05/2026.

On the political front, DAP secretary-general and Seremban MP Anthony Loke Siew Fook urged the exco members to resign if they no longer recognise Tuanku Muhriz.

"If they now no longer recognise His Royal Highness as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, then as a matter of principle and dignity, they should resign from their respective positions," he said.

An exco decision cannot by itself override the state constitution or the council's determinations, Loke said. An exco member holding the youth and sports portfolio rejected the call.

The former menteri besar and state PKR chief, Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, has called for action against the exco members over the statement on the royal institution.

The Undang of Rembau, Datuk Sedia Raja Hassan Ab Hamid, had earlier said that holding a power does not mean the procedure for exercising it can be set aside.

The dispute began with the removal of the Undang of Sungai Ujong on April 17, followed by the proclamation two days later. The Seremban High Court granted an ad interim injunction on June 5 restraining the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang from convening or acting, and the council ruled on July 31 that the April proclamation was null and void.