Exco tak boleh atasi perlembagaan N Sembilan, kata undang

Undang Luak Rembau Hassan Ab Hamid has rejected claims by a Negeri Sembilan Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan (exco) that they had declared the deposition of Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as the state's Yang Di Pertuan Besar illegitimate. Hassan stressed that the core of the dispute lies in whether the four previous ordinances carried out an inquiry and found corruption that warranted removing the Tuanku as the state's ruler.

The Legal and Justice Department (DKU) has ruled that such an inquiry was never conducted and Tuanku Muhriz was not given notice or an opportunity to respond. Failure to meet this basic requirement casts doubt on the legitimacy of the proclamation (regarding Tuanku Muhriz's deposition in April), he said in a statement. Hassan added that DKU's ruling on state affairs is firm and cannot be challenged in court, meaning the exco cannot unilaterally ignore DKU's decision based on the Tuanku's position.

DKU has determined that three of the four signatories to the proclamation were no longer holding their respective state parliament seats on the date of signing (the document was signed), he added. He also stated that the latest proclamation signed by Ismail Lasim has already been contested by Ismail himself, which makes the document invalid and signed under pressure.

Exco has its own function and authority in governing the state, but it cannot replace a collective decision or a media statement to bypass, ignore, or finalize the process mandated by the State Government of Negeri Sembilan Act (SGNSA). All parties should respect the SGNSA, the authority of DKU, and the decisions made within its purview. No individual, government institution, or exco can place themselves above the SGNSA.