Who Is the Undang of Johol and Why Do 70 Companies Raise Questions That Demand Answers?

Apr 26, 2026

When the four Undang of Negeri Sembilan declared Tuanku Muhriz removed on 19 April 2026, public scrutiny fell quickly on two of them.

Mubarak Dohak (the sacked Undang of Sungei Ujong) because he had no legal standing to sign anything. And Datuk Maarof Mat Rashad (the Undang of Jelebu) because SSM public records showed he had granted rare earth mining rights to a company he subsequently became a shareholder of, before quietly exiting one month before the crisis.

But the third signatory, Datuk Muhammed bin Hj Abdullah (the Undang of Johol), has received far less scrutiny.

Until now.

What the Official SSM Records Show

An official SSM Personal Involvement Director Information report for Y.T.M. Dato’ Muhammed bin Hj Abdullah (IC: 660102055269), purchased directly from SSM e-Info Services on 26 April 2026, confirms the following:

Total companies: 70
Total companies resigned: 23
Currently active directorships: 47

That last number is the one that matters most. Not 70 historical entries spread across a career. 47 active, existing company directorships right now while simultaneously holding the position of Undang Luak Johol, one of the four most powerful traditional positions in Negeri Sembilan.

The Pattern of Company Names

The most striking detail in the official SSM document is not the number of companies. It is the names of some of them.

Three companies appear to directly incorporate his traditional title as Undang:

TU-E Capital (ULJ) Sdn. Bhd. (No. 41), appointed 5 December 2017. The abbreviation ULJ appears to reference Undang Luak Johol, though this has not been independently confirmed.

UJ Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (No. 51), appointed 10 July 2019. Now dissolved. UJ may stand for Undang Johol.

Undang Holdings Sdn. Bhd. (No. 31), appointed 30 October 2024, months before the constitutional crisis. A company bearing the word Undang in its name, incorporated while he holds that position.

And in what may be the most pointed irony in the entire document:

Muafakat Bahagia Sdn. Bhd. (No. 33), appointed 5 June 2025. Muafakat is the foundational adat principle of consensus and open deliberation. It is the very principle the Undang’s declaration of 19 April 2026 arguably violated. A company named after the soul of adat, registered by a man who would go on to sign a declaration made without muafakat.

A traditional chief’s position is a public trust. Amanah, in the language of adat itself. The incorporation of private commercial enterprises bearing the name of that trust raises an obvious and serious question: is the traditional authority of the Undang being used to give commercial credibility to private businesses?

The Rare Earth Connection

In the context of the Negeri Sembilan royal crisis, one company name stands above all others in significance:

MSZ REE Sdn. Bhd. (No. 65), appointed 19 January 2024.

REE is the standard industry abbreviation for Rare Earth Elements, the exact same sector at the centre of the Undang of Jelebu controversy. SSM records show the Undang of Jelebu became a shareholder of NREE Holdings (a rare earth company) after signing an official Balai Undang authorisation letter in relation to that sector.

The Undang of Johol became a director of MSZ REE Sdn. Bhd. in January 2024, over a year before the constitutional crisis erupted. Whether REE in the company name refers to Rare Earth Elements has not been independently verified. It is an inference from standard industry abbreviation.

Two Undang. The same sector. The same questions.

The Mining and Resources Companies

MSZ REE is not the only resource extraction company in the official SSM records. A full review of all seven pages confirms the following mining and resources directorships:

Tanjung Nagamas Mining Sdn. Bhd. (No. 15), appointed 16 February 2012. Now dissolved.

C & L Mine Venture Sdn. Bhd. (No. 43), appointed 14 November 2017. Now dissolved.

Anugerah Galian Sdn. Bhd. (No. 61), appointed 21 September 2020. Currently existing. Galian in Malay means mining or excavation.

Alpha Ocean Resources Berhad (No. 60), appointed 18 May 2020. Currently existing.

Air Kuning Resources Sdn. Bhd. (No. 50), appointed 26 April 2019. Currently existing.

The Undang Yang Empat hold significant customary authority over land and natural resources within their respective Luak. Under the Negeri Sembilan Land Code, the Undang’s traditional jurisdiction gives them influence, and in some cases formal authority, over land and resource matters within their territory.

When the same person holds traditional authority over land and simultaneously holds directorships in companies operating in resource extraction, you do not need to prove a conflict of interest. You just need to look at the org chart.

The Most Alarming Findings: What Happened Around the Crisis

The official SSM document reveals a pattern of company appointments that is difficult to ignore in the context of the constitutional crisis:

No. 69: World Gold Mining and Trade Holdings Sdn. Bhd. Appointed: 4 March 2026, 46 days before the declaration against Tuanku Muhriz. Status: Currently existing.

No. 70: South Mineral Sdn. Bhd. Appointed: 22 April 2026, three days after the declaration against Tuanku Muhriz on 19 April 2026. Status: Currently existing.

While the constitutional crisis was playing out in full public view, while the state government was rejecting the declaration, while legal experts were publishing opinions on its invalidity, while Malaysians were debating the crisis on social media, the Undang of Johol became a director of a minerals company.

These are public records. Documented facts.

Other Notable Companies

Beyond the mining and resources sector, the official SSM document records directorships across a remarkable breadth of sectors:

Biforst Healthcare Sdn. Bhd. (No. 24), healthcare, existing
NS Infotech Sdn. Bhd. (No. 49), technology, existing. NS likely stands for Negeri Sembilan
HB Global Limited (No. 55), appointed July 2024, existing
Caesar City Corporation Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (No. 68), appointed January 2025, existing
Tahap Lestari Sdn. Bhd. (No. 32), appointed 18 April 2025, existing
Rahatex (M) Sdn. Bhd. (No. 64), appointed October 2023, existing
Sinergi Halqah Prestige Sdn. Bhd. (No. 66), appointed February 2024, existing
Sachee Marketing Sdn. Bhd. (No. 67), appointed July 2024, existing

The breadth of sectors covered (mining, rare earth, gold, minerals, technology, logistics, healthcare, security, leisure, resources, marketing) suggests a commercial portfolio that extends far beyond what one might expect of a traditional chief whose primary duty is the custodianship of adat and the welfare of the people of Luak Johol.

Why 47 Active Directorships Is Not an Ordinary Number

To put the numbers in context:

The average Malaysian businessperson holds directorships in 2 to 5 companies. A prominent corporate figure with extensive business interests might hold 10 to 20. Corporate governance guidelines in Malaysia generally flag anything above 5 active directorships as potentially compromising a director’s ability to fulfil their fiduciary duties effectively.

The Undang of Johol currently holds 47 active directorships.

Each directorship carries legal responsibilities: attendance at board meetings, review of financial statements, oversight of company decisions, legal liability for company conduct. Fulfilling those duties across 47 companies, while simultaneously discharging the full customary and constitutional responsibilities of the Undang Luak Johol, raises serious questions about where his time, attention and primary loyalty actually lies.

The Pattern Across the Undang

What makes the Undang of Johol’s SSM records particularly significant is that they form part of a broader pattern now emerging across multiple members of the Undang Yang Empat:

Ex-Undang of Sungei Ujong (Mubarak): removed for 33 violations of adat and syariah, including withholding allowances of adat chiefs and falsifying marriage records. All offences reported to PDRM and JHEAINS.

Undang of Jelebu (Maarof): SSM records show he became a 20% shareholder of NREE Holdings (a rare earth company) after a letter on official Balai Undang letterhead was issued in relation to that sector, before exiting the company one month before the declaration against Tuanku Muhriz.

Undang of Johol (Muhammed): 70 company directorships including mining companies, a rare earth elements company, a gold mining company, a minerals company, and companies bearing his traditional title, with 47 active directorships currently. Two of the most recent directorships were taken up in the weeks immediately before and after the declaration against Tuanku Muhriz.

Undang of Rembau (Abdul Rahim): installed September 2024, only seven months before signing the declaration. His business interests have not yet been publicly examined.

Three of the four Undang now have public records raising serious questions about the intersection of their traditional authority and their commercial interests. This is a pattern that demands formal scrutiny.

The Questions That Must Be Answered

The SSM records do not prove wrongdoing. They are public records showing legal company registrations. Holding company directorships is not illegal.

But they raise questions that the people of Johol, the people of Negeri Sembilan, and Malaysians more broadly are entitled to have answered:

1. Did any of the 70 companies, particularly those in the mining, rare earth, gold and resources sectors, benefit from the Undang’s traditional authority, land access or customary jurisdiction over Luak Johol?

2. Were any government contracts, land approvals, mining licences or resource access linked to companies in which the Undang held directorships?

3. Why was World Gold Mining and Trade Holdings Sdn. Bhd. incorporated 46 days before the declaration against Tuanku Muhriz and what is its business?

4. Why was South Mineral Sdn. Bhd. incorporated three days after the declaration, while the constitutional crisis was in full public view?

5. What is the business of MSZ REE Sdn. Bhd., the company whose name includes the standard abbreviation for Rare Earth Elements, in which he became a director in January 2024?

6. How does the Undang of Johol fulfil his customary and constitutional duties to the people of Johol while simultaneously managing 47 active company directorships?

What SPRM Should Do

The Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) has broad powers to investigate abuse of office and conflict of interest by public officials. Traditional chiefs who exercise constitutional and customary authority over land, resources and governance are arguably covered by those powers.

The questions arising from the SSM records of the Undang of Johol, like those arising from the NREE Holdings documents relating to the Undang of Jelebu, are precisely the kind of questions SPRM exists to answer.

The SSM records are public. The questions are legitimate. The public interest is clear.

SPRM should investigate.

A Note on Fairness

It must be stated clearly and prominently: holding company directorships is not illegal. The SSM records presented here are official public documents purchased directly from SSM e-Info Services. Nothing in this article constitutes an allegation of criminal conduct.

The interpretations of company name abbreviations (ULJ, UJ, REE) are inferences based on standard usage and have not been independently confirmed. Readers should treat them as questions, not conclusions.

What these records do constitute is a legitimate basis for public scrutiny and formal investigation, particularly when:

The person concerned participated in a declaration purporting to remove the ruler of a Malaysian state
The pattern of commercial activity includes sectors where the Undang’s traditional land authority creates potential for conflict of interest
Companies bearing words associated with his traditional title were incorporated while he holds that title
A gold mining company and a minerals company were incorporated immediately before and after the declaration
47 active directorships raise fundamental questions about where his primary duty lies

The people of Negeri Sembilan deserve answers. And the institution of the Undang Yang Empat, if it is to survive this crisis with any credibility, needs those answers to be provided transparently, publicly and urgently.

Integriti adat bukan untuk dikompromi.

The integrity of adat is not for compromise.