The Bar Council has questioned the legal basis on which the Negeri Sembilan government continues to operate after the state ruler revoked the appointments of all state executive council members.
Bar Council president Anand Raj said the matter required clarification following the decision by Yang Dipertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir amid a dispute over a purported proclamation seeking his removal.
In a statement, Anand said the proclamation dated April 19, which the Attorney-General’s Chambers had rejected as invalid, did not fulfil a requirement under the state constitution for a full inquiry by the undangs, or traditional territorial chiefs, before they could call on the ruler to withdraw from his functions or abdicate.
“No contemporaneous record has been published to show that any such enquiry was ever held, nor that His Royal Highness was ever given an opportunity to rebut the allegations made against him,” Anand said.
Bar Council raises due process concerns
Anand said the right to be heard was a fundamental principle of natural justice that applied to everyone, including a head of state.
Citing a 1962 Privy Council decision in a case involving the Federation of Malaya, he said the ruler was entitled to the same protection against removal from office without a fair hearing as ordinary citizens.
“If ordinary citizens are constitutionally protected from unlawful removal from office without a fair hearing, His Royal Highness is entitled to no less protection,” he said.
Questions over alleged coercion
Anand also said several questions remained unanswered over the handling of the crisis, including Menteri Besar Ismail Lasim’s claim that he had signed the proclamation seeking Tuanku Muhriz’s removal under duress.
“The public is entitled to know by whom, how and why, and why he lodged the police report only on Sept 8, some five weeks after the purported proclamation,” Anand said.
He also questioned why Ismail subsequently endorsed the proclamation.
