Anak Nogori Weekly Round-Up (22 to 28 June, 2026)

Two new Undangs installed in Sungei Ujong and Rembau, the Conference of Rulers postponed, and the DKU dispute heads to court on 7 July.

Jun 28, 2026

What happened last week

This was a significant week, carrying some of the most consequential developments since the crisis began. The dispute moved from words to ceremony. Two of the four Undang seats were settled through the Luak's own process and marked by royal assent at Istana Besar Seri Menanti.

What had been a contest of declarations began to take institutional shape.

23 to 25 June 2026, Tues to Thurs: The Conference of Rulers meeting scheduled for these dates was postponed (Malaysiakini, 23 June 2026,The Star, 23 June 2026,Straits Times, 23 June 2026). The two camps read the deferral differently. Supporters of Tuanku Muhriz treated it as changing nothing in constitutional terms, while supporters of Tunku Nadzaruddin presented it as a sign that questions remained open. The federal government’s recognition of Tuanku Muhriz as Yang di-Pertuan Besar stayed in place through the week.

25 June 2026, Thurs: At Istana Besar Seri Menanti, Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz received the Dato’-Dato’ Adat of Luak Rembau, who presented Hassan Ab Hamid and sought consent for the date of the istiadat installing the 22nd Undang of Luak Rembau (Sinar Harian, 25 June 2026).

25 June 2026, Thurs: The selection drew public objection the same day. Adat leaders associated with the rival camp of Rembau said they had no knowledge of the ceremony, and reports described members of the Lembaga maintaining that the 2024 proclamation stands (Malaysiakini, 25 June 2026,Harian Metro, 25 June 2026).

26 June 2026, Fri: At Istana Besar Seri Menanti, Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz received the Dato'-Dato' Adat of Luak Sungei Ujong, the waris soko, and their delegation, led by the Waris Negeri of Sungei Ujong, Datuk Sinda Maharaja Razlan Hamid. The Luak conveyed that the selection of the Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong had been carried out according to its adat, and sought a date for the ceremony. Tunku Ali conveyed the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar for the Istiadat Menghadap Menjunjung Duli to be held on the morning of Saturday, 27 June (Malaysiakini, 26 June 2026).

27 June 2026, Sat: Tuanku Muhriz conducted the istiadat installing Muhammad Faris Johari as the 11th Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong and formalising the appointment of Hassan Ab Hamid as the 22nd Undang of Luak Rembau, and used the occasion to call for loyalty (Malay Mail, 27 June 2026,The Star, 27 June 2026).

The Sungei Ujong seat drew its own objection, with heirs of the Klana line disputing Muhammad Faris’s appointment (Sinar Harian, 27 June 2026).

Commentary worth reading

25 June 2026, Thurs: Sinar Harian quoted Dato' Juan Datuk Zulkipli Shamsudin, chairman of the Kerapatan Buapak Lapan Kampung of Waris Biduanda Nan Dua Carak in Luak Rembau, who set out the customary principle directly: under Adat Perpatih an Undang is chosen within his own Luak, and the Yang di-Pertuan Besar receives the Luak's representatives and grants assent rather than initiating, choosing, or appointing. He noted that recent reports portraying Tuanku Muhriz as having started or made the appointment misread both the Adat and the Constitution (Sinar Harian, 25 June 2026).

25 June 2026, Thurs: The Straits Times set out the reporting behind its scoop, “Royal conclave cancelled: the story behind the ST scoop,” tracing how the cancellation came to light and what it signals while the Negeri Sembilan dispute remains in litigation. The Straits Times broke the story. According to its reporting, colleagues in the Malaysian press described authorities working to contain the fallout from the cancellation, itself a rare enough turn to be worth recording, and the paper cited experts and palace observers who regarded calling off the Conference at the last minute as without precedent, noting that even pandemic-era postponements came with notice rather than at the eleventh hour (The Straits Times, 25 June 2026).

Adatperpatih.my: For readers who want to follow the custom in Bahasa Melayu, adatperpatih.my is a clear and well-sourced reference on Adat Perpatih. It sets out the Luak structure and the mechanics of how an Undang is chosen and removed, and it frames the removal of an Undang as a customary act of the Luak that the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU) acknowledges, the same reading this publication works from. Like our publication, its stated approach echoes the principles on our own: neutral and sourced, with permanent customary content kept apart from the current-affairs case study, and a standing invitation to readers to flag corrections. We recommend it as a strong Malay-language companion to the explainers here (adatperpatih.my)

What we are watching for next week

7 July 2026, Tues: The Seremban High Court is fixed to hear the application by Mubarak, the removed Undang of Luak Sungei Ujong, and three Undangs, with two others, to set aside the ad interim injunction restraining the DKU from convening. Case management was held before Justice Roz Mawar Rozain on 18 June (Negeri Sembilan royal feud: Undangs apply to set aside DKU injunction (The Edge), 15 June 2026). The matter is before the court, so this publication states the listing as fact and reserves any reading of the merits while proceedings are live.

We are also watching how the two installed Undangs settle against the rival claims now that the istiadat have taken place, and whether any reading attaches to the Conference of Rulers once a fuller account of last week’s postponement emerges.

A bare civic marker, kept apart from the succession question: the Election Commission calendar for the state poll sets nomination day on 18 July, early voting on 28 July, and polling on 1 August. We carry these dates as scheduling facts only and draw no line between the election and the succession dispute.

As the Adat saying has it, berjenjang naik, bertangga turun, one climbs step by step and descends rung by rung. Authority moves through the structure in sequence, and the week’s two ceremonies will be read against whether each step was filled.

Summary

The installations are worth reading carefully, because the line of authority runs the opposite way to how the ceremony can appear. The choice of an Undang belongs to the Luak, which moves through its own customary structure of Buapak, Ibu Soko, and Lembaga to settle on a name. (Read our post on this).

The Yang di-Pertuan Besar receives that choice and grants assent, and the istiadat is the moment that assent is marked. What gives the week its weight is the consequence rather than the source: with two of the four seats now formalised at the Luak level and assented to, the makeup of the body that elects a Yang di-Pertuan Besar shifts, should those appointments be upheld against the rival claims still before the Seremban High Court.

New posts written by this publication last week

How is an Undang of Negeri Sembilan appointed and removed? An evergreen reference explainer on the nine-step process, anchored in the principle that the Yang di-Pertuan Besar receives the Luak’s choice and grants assent.
Why do several Wikipedia pages call the Undangs “Raja”? A look at the framing across four Malay Wikipedia pages and why the “Raja under Article 160(2)” reading misstates the office.
[UPDATED] Who is the Undang of Rembau and was his appointment legitimate? A profile of the Rembau seat, tracing the questions raised over the 2024 installation and the disputed 22nd Undang appointment.

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Anak Nogori is independent commentary on the unfolding constitutional crisis in Negeri Sembilan, where centuries-old Adat Perpatih, royal succession law, and modern political manoeuvring are colliding in ways Malaysia has never seen before. If you find this useful, share it with someone who should be following this, or subscribe to receive the latest articles in your inbox.

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