The Negeri Sembilan palace has declared the hereditary title of Tunku Panglima Besar of Tunku Nadzaruddin Tuanku Jaafar vacant, following his attempt to assume the role of Yang di-Pertuan Besar through a proclamation ceremony on June 5.
In a statement, Keeper of the Negeri Sembilan ruler’s seal Datuk Azizi Ali said the purported proclamation of a “new” Yang di-Pertuan Besar has no legal standing under the state’s constitution, laws and customs.
“However, by attempting to accept the title, Tunku Nadzaruddin has, by his own actions, relinquished the hereditary title of Tunku Panglima Besar of Negeri Sembilan, which he previously held.
“This means that the hereditary title of Tunku Panglima Besar is currently vacant,” he said in a statement on June 9.
Azizi reiterated the palace’s position that the proclamation of Tunku Nadzaruddin as Yang di-Pertuan Besar was not recognised under Negeri Sembilan’s constitutional framework and adat (customary) practices.
The latest development comes amid an ongoing constitutional and customary dispute over the state’s royal succession.
On June 5, a video surfaced showing Tunku Nadzaruddin being proclaimed as Negeri Sembilan’s 12th Yang di-Pertuan Besar during a ceremony held at a five-star hotel in Melaka.
The proclamation is understood to have been made by the Jelebu Undang, Maarof Mat Rashad, purportedly on behalf of the state’s four undang.
The ceremony has since drawn scrutiny, with the palace maintaining that any such proclamation is invalid and does not confer lawful authority or status under the state’s established constitutional and customary system.
