Negeri Sembilan exco declares removal valid, recognises Tuanku Nadzaruddin

SEREMBAN: The Negeri Sembilan government has recognised Tuanku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja'afar as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar with immediate effect, after declaring the proclamation removing Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir from the throne valid.

The recognition came in a statement from the state executive councillors today, according to MalaysiaGazette. The statement said the proclamation process had been completed under Article 10(2) of the Laws of the Constitution of Negeri Sembilan 1959.

Malaysiakini reported that the collective decision was reached at a September 15 meeting chaired by the menteri besar, Datuk Ismail Lasim. The state administration was also instructed to carry out the announcement immediately.

The councillors said the proclamation selecting Tuanku Nadzaruddin under Article 11 had been signed and sealed by lawfully appointed undangs. On that basis, they accepted it as meeting the requirements of the state constitution.

"Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir has been removed from the throne of Negeri Sembilan by the Undang Yang Empat," the statement said, adding that electing and removing the Yang di-Pertuan Besar is the absolute prerogative of the four ruling chiefs under adat and the state constitution.

The disputed proclamation is dated April 19, 2026 and was made under Articles 10 and 11 of the same constitution. Ismail signed it on August 3 at Istana Laguna Biru, while the Undang Yang Empat announced on September 5 that the signing process was complete.

The decision followed Ismail's statement a day earlier that the menteri besar had no unilateral authority to determine the ruler's position. He stressed then that a proclamation's validity had to be assessed against the powers, requirements and procedures prescribed by the state constitution.

On September 14, the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang, or DKU, maintained that Tuanku Muhriz remained on the throne and rejected the proclamation's validity. The council described a September 5 document seeking his removal as treasonous under adat and law, disputed the standing of four of its signatories, and said the full inquiry required had never been conducted.

The DKU also directed government officers to disregard the document and ordered that a police report be lodged against the six individuals who signed it. That position differs from the decision now announced by the executive councillors.

The Undang of Rembau, Datuk Sedia Raja Hassan Ab Hamid, rejected the exco's stance, saying the executive could not override the state constitution or the DKU's rulings.

"The existence of a power does not mean that the procedure for exercising it can be disregarded," he said.

He cited Article 16(3) of the state constitution, under which DKU determinations on Malay adat are final and cannot be challenged in any court, alongside Articles 71 and 181 of the Federal Constitution.

Emirul Sarifudin Nor Azmi, the lawyer acting for Tuanku Nadzaruddin and the Undang Yang Empat, said the exco decision officially removes the previous ruler.

The dispute is also before the courts. On June 5, the Seremban High Court, before Judge Roz Mawar Rozain, granted an ad interim injunction restraining the DKU from convening, making decisions or taking any action, in a suit filed by Raja Norazli Raja Nordin. The order stands until the court determines the questions of jurisdiction and justiciability, or until further order.