KUALA LUMPUR, September 24 2026, Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim has been urged to explain who allegedly pressured him into signing the Instrument of Proclamation concerning the position of Yang Dipertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir on Aug 3.
Senior Political Advisor to the Prime Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the matter remained unanswered despite Ismail issuing a seven-page statement on the issue.
In a Facebook post today, Tengku Zafrul questioned whether Ismail had indeed been forced to sign the proclamation and, if so, who had pressured him.
He said Ismail’s statement maintained that the state government had no role in determining who should ascend or abdicate the throne, but did not explain the change in his position on the proclamation.
Tengku Zafrul also pointed out that Ismail, who was sworn in as Menteri Besar on Aug 2, had expressed support and loyalty to Tuanku Muhriz on Sept 6, before later saying on Sept 9 that his signature on the proclamation had been made unwillingly and under duress.
He further questioned what led the state executive council, chaired by Ismail on Sept 15, to take the position that the proclamation was valid and enforceable.
Tengku Zafrul asked whether Ismail had also been pressured into changing his position and, if so, who was involved and whom he had met during that period.
-BERNAMA
