Mubarak No Longer Has Adat Authority As Undang: Two Statements from the Telaga Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong
Two official statements state that under adat and the Negeri Sembilan Constitution, Mubarak bin Thahak ceased to hold any authority as Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong.
On 29 April 2026, a formal media statement was issued from Telaga Undang Luak Sungei Ujong, Batu 9, Kampung Telaga Undang, Pantai, Seremban. It was signed by YM Telaga Undang Sarifah Norzaidah Al-Qadri.
English Translation:
MEDIA STATEMENT
The Balai Undang Luak Sungei Ujong in Ampangan may no longer be used for customary ceremonies following the removal of Mubarak bin Thahak as the hereditary holder of YTM Dato’ Klana Petra Undang Luak Sungei Ujong since 13 May 2025.
In relation to this, all parties including any Ruling Chiefs of Negeri Sembilan are not permitted to carry out any ceremony whatsoever on the said premises, as Mubarak bin Thahak no longer has standing (locus standi) under adat and the constitution.
Use of the Balai Undang Luak Sungei Ujong for customary ceremonial purposes must first obtain the approval of the Klana Heirs through a gathering of the State Heirs at the Telaga Undang residence.
The authorities, including the Negeri Sembilan State Government, are requested to act firmly should any customary ceremony be held at the Balai Undang Luak Sungei Ujong without the permission of the Telaga Undang.
That is all.
YM TELAGA UNDANG SARIFAH NORZAIDAH AL-QADRI 29 April 2026
This was not the first time Sarifah Norzaidah had spoken. Ten days earlier, on 19 April 2026, the same day the “Undang Yang Empat”* signed their declaration at the Balai, she issued a statement that was reported across Berita Harian, Malay Mail, Free Malaysia Today, Sinar Harian, and Kosmo.
English Translation:
MEDIA STATEMENT
The former Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong, Mubarak bin Thahak, has been removed as the hereditary holder of YTM Dato’ Klana Petra since 13 May 2025 and the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang on 17 April 2026 has advised that his removal be accepted.
Therefore, Mubarak’s action in signing and reading the declaration to remove DYMM Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir today at the Balai Undang Luak Sungei Ujong is INVALID as he no longer holds any authority under adat and the constitution.
The Ibu Soko-Ibu Soko Klana Hulu and the Anak-anak Waris Klana Hulu have never given any mandate to him to act in such a manner. Mubarak’s action is treason against DYMM Tuanku Muhriz and appropriate legal action should be taken.
That is all.
YM TELAGA UNDANG SARIFAH NORZAIDAH AL-QADRI 19 April 2026
What Is the Telaga Undang?
The Telaga Undang is the traditional deliberative institution of Luak Sungei Ujong. Under Adat Perpatih, it functions as the customary parliament of the luak, where the Dato’-Dato’ Lembaga, Waris Negeri, and Ibu Soko Waris di-Darat convene to deliberate on matters of adat and religion. Its decisions are validated by the Tua Lembaga before being presented to the Dato’ Klana Petra for formal sanction.
The holder of the YM Telaga Undang position is drawn from the Ibu Soko Klana Hulu lineage, determined not by election or appointment but by consensus among the senior Ibu Soko of that lineage. The position has existed since at least the early twentieth century, formalised by agreement on 10 May 1902 between YTM Dato’ Klana Petra Ma’amor and all the Dato’-Dato’ Lembaga.
Who Is YM Telaga Undang Sarifah Norzaidah Al-Qadri?
Sarifah Norzaidah Al-Qadri is the current holder of the YM Telaga Undang position within Luak Sungei Ujong. She is an Ibu Soko of the Waris Klana Hulu lineage, the senior matrilineal line from which the Dato’ Klana Petra title has historically descended. The YM Telaga Undang position is reserved exclusively for Ibu Soko of this lineage, determined by consensus among its senior members rather than by external appointment or election.
Where the Undang is the head of a luak with constitutional functions including the election of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar, the YM Telaga Undang presides over the deliberative institution through which adat matters in Luak Sungei Ujong are discussed, resolved, and validated before being presented for formal sanction.
In practical terms, her authority over the internal affairs of Luak Sungei Ujong, including questions of who holds customary titles and whether the Balai may be used for ceremonial purposes, is grounded in adat rather than statute. It is authority recognised within the customary structure, not the administrative one.
Her earlier statement of 19 April 2026, issued days after the declaration at the Balai, was reported by the New Straits Times, Malay Mail, Free Malaysia Today, and Berita Harian. In it, she described the actions of the previous removed Undang as constituting treason against Tuanku Muhriz and called for legal action. The 29 April statement goes further. It withdraws the Balai from use.
What Is the Balai?
The Balai Undang Luak Sungei Ujong in Ampangan is the official ceremonial hall and seat of the Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong. It is where the Undang holds court, receives dignitaries, conducts official adat ceremonies, and exercises the formal functions of the office. It carries the symbolic weight of the position itself.
It was also the venue where Mubarak and the three Undangs gathered to announce the removal of Tuanku Muhriz was removed as Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, and naming Tunku Nadzaruddin as his replacement on 19 April 2026.
Using the Balai is a deliberate and symbolic act removing the sitting Undang from his official seat. Under adat, the previous removed Undang no longer holds the title, no longer has constitutional standing, and now no longer has access to the physical and symbolic seat of the office.
A Counter-Claim on Record
This publication notes that a counter-statement has been issued by a party identifying itself as the Balai Undang Luak Sungei Ujong. Reported by The Rakyat Post on 22 April 2026, that statement alleged that the title “Yang Mulia Telaga Undang” is not a recognised position within the Sungei Ujong adat structure, and that the label had been fabricated to lend legitimacy to actions taken without proper authority. The statement also alleged that two former adat leaders had formed an unauthorised council and used it to apply for government funds without proper auditing.
Both sets of claims are now before the relevant authorities, including the police and the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang.
What is on record is that the DKU, in its special sitting of 17 April 2026, acknowledged the consensus of the Telaga Undang and Waris Klana Hulu on the removal of the previous removed Undang, and that this acceptance was confirmed publicly by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun in his statement of 20 April 2026. That DKU decision is, under Article 16 of the Negeri Sembilan Constitution 1959, final and not subject to challenge in any court.
The Sequence, in Order
For readers following this crisis, the sequence in Luak Sungei Ujong is now as follows.
On 1 April 2025, a formal gathering at Telaga Undang Sungei Ujong resolved to remove the previous removed Undang as holder of the Datuk Klana Petra title on grounds involving violations of adat and religious law. All related offences were reported to JHEAINS and PDRM.
On 13 May 2025, that removal took effect. From that date, all advice, directions, and decisions made by the previous removed Undang in his capacity as Datuk Klana Petra were rendered without legal standing.
On 17 April 2026, the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang, in special session at Istana Besar Seri Menanti and chaired by Tuanku Muhriz, acknowledged the consensus of the Telaga Undang and Waris Klana Hulu, formally advising that Luak Sungei Ujong receive the removal of the previous removed Undang under Article 14(3) of the Negeri Sembilan Constitution 1959.
On 19 April 2026, the previous removed Undang, together with the Undang of Jelebu, the Undang of Johol, and the Undang of Rembau, signed and read a declaration at the Balai Undang Luak Sungei Ujong purporting to remove Tuanku Muhriz as Yang di-Pertuan Besar. That declaration was rejected by the state government as having no legal or customary force.
On the same day, YM Telaga Undang Sarifah Norzaidah Al-Qadri issued her first statement, declaring the declaration invalid, describing the previous removed Undang's actions as treason against Tuanku Muhriz, and stating that the Ibu Soko-Ibu Soko Klana Hulu and Anak Waris Klana Hulu had never given him any mandate to act.
On 29 April 2026, YM Telaga Undang Sarifah Norzaidah Al-Qadri issued the statement that is the subject of this article. The Balai is closed to the previous removed Undang. Anyone, including state authorities, who facilitates a ceremony there without the approval of the Klana Heirs is being put on formal notice.
Summary
Taken together, these two documents from the Telaga Undang institution of Luak Sungei Ujong leave little room for ambiguity. Under adat, Mubarak bin Thahak ceased to hold any authority as Undang on 13 May 2025. The Ibu Soko-Ibu Soko Klana Hulu and Anak Waris Klana Hulu, the very lineage from which the Dato' Klana Petra title derives, never mandated his actions. The DKU formally acknowledged his removal on 17 April 2026. His declaration two days later had no customary or constitutional basis. And now the institution that governs adat in Luak Sungei Ujong has closed the Balai to him in writing.
At every level of the customary structure, the answer is the same: he is no longer Undang.
