PETALING JAYA: The great-grandson of a Negeri Sembilan folk hero said the public rebuke of menteri besar Ismail Lasim earlier today was the first time he had seen the state ruler, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, so incensed.
It was a scene he had never expected to witness, said Kamel Yassin. “I felt nervous watching Tuanku getting angry. It was the first time I have seen him lash out this way,” Kamel was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying.
"Ismail did not say anything," Kamel said. The incident occurred at a mosque after Friday prayers, and he was standing next to Tuanku Muhriz when it happened.
Kamel is the great-grandson of "Siamang Gagap" or Abdul Kahar Mukmin, famed for his involvement in the resistance movement against British colonial authorities in the Battle of Bukit Putus between the forces of Yamtuan Antah and British forces allied with Sungai Ujong.
In several videos posted on social media this afternoon, Tuanku Muhriz is shown telling a group of people that Ismail had written a letter to the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, informing them that he (Tuanku Muhriz) was no longer the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
Tuanku Muhriz then questioned why Ismail wanted to meet him. In response, Ismail offered the “angkat sembah”, the traditional gesture used when greeting royalty.
Following the admonishment, worshippers at the mosque were heard shouting “Daulat Tuanku”.
Tuanku Muhriz’s rebuke of Ismail comes amid a constitutional crisis in the state sparked in April after four persons claiming to be undangs, or traditional chieftains, announced the purported removal of Tuanku Muhriz as the state’s ruler, and proclaimed Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja'afar as the Yang Dipertuan Besar.
Last month, Ismail endorsed a statement issued by his executive council that purportedly affirmed the removal of Tuanku Muhriz as head of state. Tuanku Muhriz subsequently revoked the appointments of the entire state executive council.