Tuanku Muhriz revokes 10 exco appointments and orders a new line-up

SEREMBAN: The Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, has revoked the appointments of 10 state executive councillors with immediate effect and instructed Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim to submit a new list of candidates for royal consent.

The comptroller of the Negeri Sembilan royal household, Datuk Azizi Mohamad Ali, said in a statement on Monday night that all of the councillors had been found to have breached their oath of office.

"They breached this oath through their actions and statements on September 15," the statement said.

Each councillor has been notified of the revocation by royal letter.

The oath in question

All 10 took their oath and signed a pledge of allegiance before Tuanku Muhriz on August 7, before joining the state administration.

In that pledge they declared their loyalty to the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and the royal institution, undertook to protect and preserve the sovereignty of the Negeri Sembilan constitution, and acknowledged the authority vested in the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang.

The palace cited Article XXXVIII(5) of the Laws of the Constitution of Negeri Sembilan 1959, which provides that a member of the state executive council holds office at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar. Royal consent to their appointments was withdrawn under that provision.

What happened on September 15

The state executive council, at its meeting on September 15, was reported to have decided that the instrument of proclamation concerning Tuanku Muhriz's removal was valid, and to have directed that the gazetting process proceed.

Ismail confirmed the decision had been taken collectively by the state government. On September 17 he instructed the state secretary to proceed with the gazetting despite objections from the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang.

The council said the same day that Tuanku Muhriz remained the lawful Yang di-Pertuan Besar and that the office was not vacant. It added that the state executive council had no jurisdiction to determine the validity of the proclamation or the Ruler's position.

The menteri besar stays

The revocation does not touch Ismail's own post.

He was instead instructed to submit a new list of candidates under Article XXXVIII(2) of the same constitution, and to ensure that the state administration continues without disruption and that the public interest is protected.

The palace statement set no deadline for the list. At the time of writing, Ismail had not issued any statement on the revocation.

Where the law stands

The Attorney General's Chambers said on September 17 that the April 19 proclamation associated with the removal of Tuanku Muhriz was invalid because it did not meet the mandatory requirements of Article 10 of the state constitution.

It also said there was no evidence that any of the disqualification grounds under Article 10(1) applied to Tuanku Muhriz, and that the menteri besar and the state executive council had no power to remove the Yang di-Pertuan Besar unilaterally.

The related matters are before the High Court of Malaya in Seremban, where an interlocutory injunction remains in force.

The 10 names

The councillors whose appointments were revoked are Datuk Mohd Faizal Ramli, Datuk Mustapha Nagoor, Datuk Zaifulbahri Idris, Siow Kong Choon, Siti Nur Umaira Hasim, Datuk Mohd Asna Amin, Datuk Mohd Razi Mohd Ali, Suhaimizan Bizar, Mohd Fairuz Mohd Isa and Datuk Razali Abu Samah.

All were appointed on August 7.