Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has called on PAS assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan to state their position on the purported removal of Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
Zaid, who joined PAS in June, said the assemblymen should speak up on the status of Tuanku Muhriz, describing the removal of a sitting ruler as unprecedented.
“The state constitution includes provisions for how to do it. PAS must make sure the law has been followed; if not, Tuanku Muhriz is still the Yang Dipertuan Besar,” he said in a post on X.
“It does not matter whether the proclamation is by the exco or the menteri besar.”
Exco affirms purported removal
The Negeri Sembilan executive council yesterday issued a statement affirming that Tuanku Muhriz’s removal in April was legitimate and that Tuanku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja’afar was therefore the new ruler of Negeri Sembilan.
It said the council, chaired by menteri besar Ismail Lasim, convened on Tuesday and collectively decided that the April 19 proclamation on the removal of Tuanku Muhriz had been signed and sealed by the duly constituted and incumbent undangs.
The council said the proclamation was also signed by Ismail on Aug 3, rendering it complete in accordance with Article 10(2) of the Negeri Sembilan constitution.
Ismail, however, has disputed the validity of the document.
Questions over proclamation
Rembau Undang Hassan Ab Hamid said the exco members could not supersede the Negeri Sembilan constitution, as the Dewan Keadilan and Undang had declared the proclamation invalid.
Lawyer Rosli Dahlan also questioned the validity of the statement.
Several Barisan Nasional exco members, as well as one representative from Perikatan Nasional, have since republished the statement affirming the purported removal.
The only exco member who has not republished the statement is PAS’s Fairuz Isa, the Serting assemblyman.
The other three PAS assemblymen are Rafie Ab Malek of Ampangan, Kamarol Ridzuan Zain of Paroi and Abdul Fatah Zakaria of Bagan Pinang.
