KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — The Negeri Sembilan State Secretary’s Office today said no party other than Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir has the power to suspend, terminate, replace or appoint the Dewan Keadilan Undang (DKU) secretary.

In a statement, the State Secretary’s Office said the DKU secretary is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and holds office for as long as it pleases the ruler, as provided under Clause 25 of the Laws of the Constitution of Negeri Sembilan 1959.

It said the DKU is a constitutional institution headed by the Yang di-Pertuan Besar under Clauses 16, 17 and 19 of the state constitution.

“Therefore, any sitting or meeting held without the consent of DYMM Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan cannot be regarded as a DKU sitting,” it said.

The statement comes after several Negeri Sembilan ruling chiefs announced the purported indefinite suspension of DKU secretary Raja Norazli Raja Nordin on May 29.

They had accused him of failing to convene a special DKU meeting to discuss the state’s ongoing royal and customary dispute, and said an interim committee would carry out the secretary’s duties.

Raja Norazli today rejected the suspension, saying he was appointed by Tuanku Muhriz and remained duty-bound to carry out his responsibilities unless instructed otherwise by the state ruler.

The dispute is linked to the removal of Datuk Mubarak Dohak as Undang of Sungei Ujong, which was officially announced after a DKU special sitting on April 17 but took effect from May 13 last year.

The crisis later widened after Mubarak and several ruling chiefs announced the purported removal of Tuanku Muhriz as Yang di-Pertuan Besar, a move that Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said the state government did not recognise.