00:00Is Srimananti in crisis?
00:03That is the question on everyone's lips after a flood of stories in the news and on social media.
00:09In the face of such allegations, constitutional lawyer Malik Intia Sarwar has penned a letter to the editor
00:16highlighting why claims of a constitutional crisis involving the Negeri Semilan Palace are wide off the mark.
00:23In his letter, Malik explains that the Malay rulers play a vital role in Malaysia's constitutional framework.
00:30As members of the Conference of Rulers, they elect the Yang Di Putuan Agong,
00:34appoint the chief minister of their respective states, and serve as its head of Islam.
00:39According to Malik, the federal court, pat in a 2022 ruling,
00:43even described the Malay rulers as central to peace and stability in Malaysia.
00:48Malik says federal and state laws strictly protect rulers from wrongful interference.
00:55He points to the penal code, which criminalizes such interference by making it an offense
01:01to wrongfully deprive or depose a ruler, his heirs or successors.
01:05In the case of Negeri Sembilan, Article 10 of the state constitution sets out clear conditions
01:11for suspending or removing its Yang Di Putuan Besar.
01:14Malik lists four safeguards.
01:16Firstly, he says the ruler must be shown to have a serious defect or misconducted himself.
01:23Next, the Undangs are obliged to first conduct a full and formal inquiry into the matter.
01:29Third, the ruler must be given notice of the inquiry and has the right to be heard.
01:35Finally, any removal must be followed by a proclamation signed by the Undangs and the Menteri Besar.
01:42Malik says these safeguards were not followed in the recent declaration by Mubarak Dohaq.
01:48In the first place, he says Mubarak had no authority to make the declaration on April 19th,
01:54having been removed as the Undang of Sungai Ujung by Dewan Keadilan dan Undang two days earlier.
02:00In that declaration, Mubarak had claimed that the states Yang Di Putuan Besar, Tuanku Mukhris, Tuanku Munawir,
02:07had been deposed and replaced by Tunku Natsaruddin, Tuanku Jafar.
02:11But, as Malik notes, Tuanku Mukhris was not given notice of any inquiry or the opportunity to respond.
02:18Neither was any signed proclamation produced as evidence of removal.
02:23On Monday, Statementry Besar, Aminuddin Harun rejected Mubarak's claim.
02:28Instead, Aminuddin confirmed Mubarak's own removal as undang.
02:33Understood in this light, there is in reality no constitutional crisis in Negeri Sambilan, Malik concludes.
02:40For his full opinion piece, read Why Negeri Sambilan is Not in a Constitutional Crisis on FMT.
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