Undang

Unity Government and Reform · Treatise · 13 min read

The Ruler Chosen by Four Chiefs

Negeri Sembilan's constitutional dispute turns on one proclamation, one constitutional provision and two ways of reading it. To understand it, we must go back to around 1773, when four local chiefs invited a prince from across the Straits and agreed that great matters would follow the majority of the four

Since April 2026 Negeri Sembilan has been in a constitutional dispute that is still unresolved: four signatories announced that the Yang di-Pertuan Besar had been removed from office, while the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU) and the Attorney-General's Chambers say the proclamation is invalid; in September the state executive council recognised the proclamation and its members' appointments were then revoked, and the matter has gone to court. As of 12 October no court has ruled on who occupies the throne. The dispute is possible because the Negeri Sembilan throne has never passed by inheritance: it is chosen by the four Undang, and the origin of that system lies in the eighteenth century, when the chiefs of four luak invited a prince from the Minangkabau and made an agreement with him to abide by the majority.