A Negeri Sembilan executive councillor has rejected DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook’s call for state Exco members to resign if they no longer recognise Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
State Youth and Sports executive councillor Mustapha Nagoor told Free Malaysia Today that Loke should not interfere in the ongoing dispute involving the state’s royal institution and customary matters.
“Who is he to urge us to resign? Don’t interfere, sit quietly,” said the Palong assemblyman from Umno.
Loke had earlier called on Exco members to relinquish their positions if they no longer recognised Tuanku Muhriz as the state ruler, noting that they had taken their oaths of office before him in early August.
The remarks came after the Negeri Sembilan Exco issued a statement on Wednesday affirming that an April proclamation removing Tuanku Muhriz was valid and recognising Tuanku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar as the new Yang di-Pertuan Besar with immediate effect.
Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim subsequently confirmed the Exco’s position, saying the decision had been made unanimously at its meeting on Tuesday. He also said the state secretary had been instructed to gazette the decision according to the relevant regulations.
However, the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU) has rejected the Exco’s position, saying the state executive council and government have no jurisdiction to determine the validity of the proclamation or the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
The DKU said Tuanku Muhriz remains the legitimate Yang di-Pertuan Besar and that the Exco’s Sept 16 decision has no legal effect.
The dispute centres on an April 19 proclamation purporting to remove Tuanku Muhriz. The DKU has maintained that the proclamation was defective and that matters involving the selection, appointment, abdication or removal of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar fall under its jurisdiction under the Negeri Sembilan Constitution.
The conflicting positions have escalated an ongoing dispute over the constitutional and customary authority governing the state ruler’s position.
