SEREMBAN: Datuk Ismail Lasim has called for the state’s constitutional and adat crisis to be resolved through the state constitution and its customary institutions, which are vested with jurisdiction over such matters.
The Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar said the matter must be resolved according to the Laws of the Constitution of Negri Sembilan 1959, the state’s Adat Perpatih, and through the institutions holding jurisdiction, which are the four ruling chiefs (Undang Yang Empat) and Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU).
“The state government will respect whatever final decision is made legally by institutions that have jurisdictions according to adat (customary laws) and the state laws.
“We do not wish to usurp the role of customary institutions in determining disputes regarding custom and the monarchy,” he said in a press statement after a session with the media yesterday.
The state government, he said, respects the Federal Government, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), and all institutions established under the Federal Constitution.
The same respect must be accorded to the state laws, the democratically elected state government, and the special position of Negri Sembilan’s adat institutions, he said.
“The state government reminds all parties, including any agency or authority at the federal level, to refrain from taking any action that could be construed as usurping functions, applying pressure, or dictating decisions on matters that legally and customarily fall within the jurisdiction of the state,” he said.
Ismail said the state government also regrets that this dispute is being portrayed as a confrontation between the state government and the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
“This is the matter that should properly be resolved through the channels provided by custom and the state laws and not through public mudslinging,” he said, adding that his administration has no intention of dictating decisions on behalf of those institutions.
His administration, he said, neither seeks a confrontation with the royal institution nor wants adat to be turned into political fodder.
“At the same time, the institutional and customary crisis must not be used as an excuse to disrupt, intimidate, or restrict a legitimate state government from executing the trust mandated by the people,” he said.
Ismail expressed hope that his administration be given the space to carry out this trust legally, orderly and effectively without any unlawful interference, intimidation, pressure or restrictions that could compromise the legitimate functions of a government chosen by the people.
The controversy in Negri Sembilan has resulted in a constitutional impasse over the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.
On June 5, the Undang (ruling chiefs), the Tunku Besar Tampin and Dato’ Shabandar Sungei Ujong Datuk Seri Badarudin Abd Khalid, proclaimed Tunku Nadzaruddin as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan.
However, the legitimacy of three of the ruling chiefs was disputed by the DKU, which ruled they had been stripped of their positions.
On Sept 22, the state constitutional stand-off worsened after the state government suspended state secretary Datuk Mohd Zafir Ibrahim and legal adviser Datuk Muzalmah Mustapha Kamal.
However, the AGC said the state exco has no power to suspend the state secretary and legal adviser.
The AGC also said the appointment of a new state legal adviser must be in accordance with state laws and appointed by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission and the person must also be a member of the Judicial and Legal Service.
