TEN former members of the Negeri Sembilan State Executive Council (Exco) have filed an application at the Federal Court to challenge the decision by the Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan to revoke their appointments last month.
They are Datuk Mohd Faizal Ramli, Datuk Zaifulbahri Idris, Mustapha Nagoor, Siow Kong Choon, Siti Nur Umaira Hasim, Datuk Mohd Asna Amin, Datuk Mohd Razi Mohd Ali, Suhaimizan Bizar, Datuk Mohd Fairuz Mohd Isa, and Datuk Razali Abu Samah.
According to reports in Bernama, they have named the State Secretary of Negeri Sembilan and the State Government of Negeri Sembilan as respondents.
The notice of motion was filed on October 14 through the law firm Messrs Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak.
Through the notice of motion, the Executive Council (Exco) members are requesting that the Federal Court determine three legal questions concerning the effect and interpretation of provisions within the 1959 State Constitution of Negeri Sembilan—questions that have arisen from an originating summons they filed at the Seremban High Court.
On October 5, they filed an originating summons at the Seremban High Court to challenge the validity of the gazette notification revoking their appointments as members of the Negeri Sembilan State Executive Council.
In the originating summons, the 10 individuals raised several questions on the state’s constitution.
Among the questions raised is whether Article 38(5)—when read in conjunction with Articles 38(2), 38(3), 38(4), 40(1), 40(1A), and 40(2) of the State Constitution of Negeri Sembilan—authorises the Yang Dipertuan Besar to revoke the appointment of an Exco member without the advice of the Menteri Besar.
Should the answer to that question be in the negative, they seek a determination as to whether the revocation of the Exco appointments—as gazetted on September 24—was carried out in accordance with the State Constitution of Negeri Sembilan, and whether such revocation is null, void, and of no legal effect.
Another issue is whether Article 38(5), when read in conjunction with Article 28(1) of the State Constitution of Negeri Sembilan, implies that the term "Raja Pemerintah" (Ruling Ruler) refers to the Yang Dipertuan Besar—vesting him with the authority to revoke the appointment of an Executive Council (Exco) member at his own discretion, without the advice of the Menteri Besar.
If the answer to this question is in the negative, then it must be determined whether their dismissal is contrary to the state constitution.
On September 20, the Negeri Sembilan palace announced that the Yang Dipertuan Besar, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, had revoked the appointments of all the Exco members in question, effective immediately.
The revocation of their appointments was gazetted on September 24, with the dismissal taking effect from September 20.
According to the gazette, their appointments were revoked and declared void on the grounds that they had breached their oath of allegiance to Tuanku Muhriz by agreeing to remove him from his position as the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
Case management is scheduled to take place before the Deputy Registrar of the Federal Court today. – October 21, 2026