Zaid Ibrahim, the former law minister, recently gave an opinion about the Negeri Sembilan royal crisis that is similar to what a number of people, even those who comment on relevant posts in this page, have given.
According to Zaid, the “removal” of Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan by the Undang Yang Empat was inappropriate, because no clear misconduct was ever put before the public to justify the move.
“But we, the public, have not been told what wrongdoing Tuanku Muhriz supposedly committed. We simply do not know,” he said on his podcast.
According to Zaid, the central question was not merely whether the Undangs have the power to appoint or remove a ruler, but whether that power is exercised fairly and reasonably.
“Therefore, even if the four Undangs have the constitutional power to remove Tuanku Muhriz, I do not think it is appropriate. It is disproportionate.
“I believe the spirit of the constitutional provisions has been set aside. Even if the power to remove him exists, I do not think it should have been exercised in this manner,” Zaid added.
Personally, I must say that as a member of the public, I don't see the matter as how Zaid sees it at all.
First of all, in my view, I don't think the opinion of the public matters in the removal of the Yang Di-Pertuan Besar, because the opinion of the public was never a sought in installing the Yang Di-Pertuan Besar in the first place.
If the public had nothing to do with the Yamtuan Besar's “hiring”, then I don't see why our approval is required in the Yamtuan Besar's “firing”.
As for the view that the Yamtuan Besar should only be subjected to “removal” if he has clearly committed a misconduct—which I assume Zaid is defining as murder, theft, fraud, etc.—I don't see why this is the case at all.
I am sure people get fired from their jobs even if they didn't steal, cheat, or murder in this world. They will get fired simply because they are deemed unfit for the job.
If you are a soldier, for example, and you are a gentle person who can't even bring yourself to hurt a fly, I think that is grounds for firing you even if you didn't steal, cheat, or murder.
If you are a service personnel, but you can't help but deal with your company's clients in a very strange, harsh, and uncompromising manner, you will probably be removed from your job too, even if you didn't do anything criminal.
My point here is that you can be removed from a job if you are simply deemed unfit for the job.
As per what the public understands, the Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan was removed by the Undang Yang Empat because the Undangs deemed the Yamtuan Besar to be unfit for the job, not because he had done anything against the law.
As to why they deemed the Yamtuan Besar to be unfit for the job, does it really matter? If the constitution empowers them to judge the fitness of the Yamtuan Besar, then you cannot say that them using their constitutionally allocated powers to be unjust or inappropriate, just because they didn't give a specific reason.
In every election, the people also decide on whether we want the Prime Minister to continue his job for another term, but we have never told the Prime Minister why we want him removed, even when we remove them. If we judge that the Prime Minister is unfit for the job, we will just vote him out, and the Prime Minister is supposed to realise by himself that we voted him out because he has lost our confidence.
In the same way, you can also say that the Yamtuan Besar was likely removed from his office because he had simply lost the confidence of the Undangs.
As for the reason why, well, the Undangs seem to have given some vague reasons as to why they believe the Yamtuan Besar is unfit for his position, and it supposedly has to do with the Yamtuan Besar's “misconduct” in regards to matters related to adat.
What does that mean, you ask?
Well, to me, it just means that the Undangs don't think the Yamtuan Besar was acting as how they feel the Yamtuan Besar is supposed to act.
What does that mean, you ask again?
Well, let's use Zaid himself as an example. Say Zaid hired a lawyer to run his firm, but later he finds out that that lawyer is always arguing with him over everything, speaks to him in a condescending tone, cuts him off before he finishes his sentence, and acts as if he is Zaid's superior, although Zaid doesn't think he is his superior. Is Zaid unjust and inappropriate for terminating that lawyer on the grounds that the said lawyer was not “practising decorum” or "acting in a rude manner" or behaving in way that is "unbecoming" of an educated person?
How will Zaid explain why he found the lawyer's tone of voice unacceptable or prove that the lawyer is condescending ?
Must Zaid prove that the lawyer stole, cheated the firm, or committed fraud before he can terminate the lawyer?
Of course not. Zaid can terminate him if, according to their agreement, he is empowered to terminate the lawyer if he finds the lawyer to be unfit for the job, even if the reason that he has is something vague like the said lawyer was "rude" or "disrespectful" or conducted himself in a way that is "unbecoming" of a lawyer.
In the same way, I don't think the Undangs need to give exact reasons as to why they wish to remove the Yang Di-Pertuan Besar.
If the constitution empowers them to do it, then it is within their right to do so, and there is nothing unjust or inappropriate about it.
By the way, I am not saying this because I agree with the Undangs or am against the current Yamtuan Besar.
I am just saying this in response to the view that not only Zaid, but many people seem to have, which is that you can only remove the Yamtuan Besar, or anyone for that matter, if it is clearly proven that they have committed some serious misconduct like theft, murder, or arson. If there is no clear reason, then the removal is unjust or inappropriate.
I am opposed to this view simply because this is not how I see how the world works.
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