Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Ismail Lasim has ruled out appointing new state executive council (exco) members while awaiting a court decision on the validity of the cancellation of the appointments of 10 exco members.
‘For now, we have brought the matter to court, so we will wait for the court process.
‘There may be discussions, but I am not sure. We will see how the situation develops,’ he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia in Seremban.
On October 5, the 10 exco members, representing Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), sought a court declaration that the cancellation of their appointments was null and void, invalid and of no effect.
They filed an originating summons at the Seremban High Court against the state secretary and the state government. They also asked the court to determine constitutional questions concerning the authority to revoke their appointments.
Dispute over exco appointments
On September 21, Negeri Sembilan Royal Household Comptroller Azizi Mohamad Ali announced that the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, had revoked the appointments of the exco members after finding that they had breached their oaths of office.
The dispute remains before the court, with Ismail saying he would wait for the legal process to run its course before making any decision on new appointments.
Ismail focuses on 2027 state budget
Meanwhile, Ismail said his immediate priority was to ensure that the Negeri Sembilan 2027 budget could be tabled on November 27.
He also dismissed rumours that he would resign, citing the full support of government assemblymen.
‘The budget is important. I hope all parties will cooperate ahead of the state assembly sitting so that we can table and pass it successfully,’ he said.
Ismail said preparations for the budget were in their final stages, with the cooperation of state civil servants, particularly department heads.
He added that the state administration would hold another meeting to finalise the budget.
‘We already have sufficient allocations and are now waiting for the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan to proceed,’ he said.
