Azalina Othman Said says all parties should respect the Negeri Sembilan State Constitution in resolving the constitutional impasse involving Tuanku Muhriz
KUALA LUMPUR: All parties should respect and refer to the Negeri Sembilan State Constitution (UUTKNS) 1959 in seeking a solution to the administrative impasse in the state, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
She said that as a state practising the unique Adat Perpatih system, Negeri Sembilan had long used the UUTKNS as a guide in the state administration.
“Negeri Sembilan is a bit unique compared with the other states. I don’t want to take sides on who is right or wrong, but to me, any decision or anything, you have to go back to the main law, which is the state constitution.
“In the Federal Constitution, there is a list of what can and cannot be done between the states and the federal government. They are two different things. So, we have to respect the state law as well as the Federal Constitution. Let the people of Negeri Sembilan themselves find a solution. This is my personal opinion,” she said.
Azalina told reporters this after attending a literacy programme on the Anti-Bullying Act 2026 (Act 876) and the role of the Anti-Bullying Tribunal at the Royal Military College here today.
Azalina was commenting on a proposal by 10 former presidents of the Malaysian Bar, who urged the federal government to intervene and resolve the constitutional impasse over the position of Negeri Sembilan Yang Dipertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.
The 10 lawyers are Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Ragunath Kesavan, Datuk Lim Chee Wee, Christopher Leong, Datuk George Varughese, Salim Bashir and Karen Cheah Yee Lynn.
They described the latest developments involving Tuanku Muhriz, including certain actions by the Negeri Sembilan State Executive Council which they said had not followed the proper process under the UUTKNS, as raising serious concerns over the constitutional monarchy system and the rule of law.
