Appeals court allows contempt proceedings against disputed N Sembilan chieftains

Committal proceedings against six individuals, including four disputed Negeri Sembilan chieftains, can proceed following the Court of Appeal's dismissal of their stay application this morning.

The panel, presided over by judges Alwi Abdul Wahab, Shahnaz Sulaiman and Amarjeet Singh, unanimously held that the committal application ought to be dealt with expeditiously.

“It is a well-settled principle that committal proceedings ought to take precedence over other interlocutory applications.

“Contempt proceedings directly involve the court’s jurisdiction to prevent undue interference with the administration of justice and to preserve the court's authority in the public (domain),” said Amarjeet, who read the panel’s findings.

The Court of Appeal also ruled that the six individuals - the disputed undangs Mubarak Thahak (Sungai Ujong), Maarof Mat Rashad (Jelebu), Muhammad Abdullah (Johol), Abdul Rahim Yasin (Rembau), as well as Tunku Besar Tampin Tunku Syed Razman Tunku Syed Idrus Al-Qadri, and datuk syahbandar Sungai Ujong Badarudin Abdul Khalid - had not met the requirements for a stay of the proceedings.

It said the Seremban High Court was right to find that there was a prima facie case against them. This means there was sufficient initial evidence for the case to proceed and for the six individuals to be asked to respond.

The appellate court said questions about the chieftains' claimed immunity and their explanations for the alleged breach should be considered during the main committal inquiry, rather than at this preliminary stage.

The panel also rejected the appellants' argument that their application for an interim injunction should be heard first.

Substantive case

The dispute began on May 5, when the chieftains filed an originating summons at the High Court.

They sought to compel the Negeri Sembilan government and the Council of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and the Ruling Chiefs (Dewan Keadilan dan Undang) to release the minutes of an April 17 meeting.

The meeting was a special sitting of the council, where a decision was reportedly reached unanimously to remove Mubarak as the Sungai Ujong undang.

The chieftains named the Negeri Sembilan government, the council and its secretary, Raja Norazli Raja Nordin, as defendants in the case.

Judge Roz Mawar Rozain, who presided over the matter, granted an interim injunction on June 5 to preserve the status quo, including the composition of the council and Raja Rozali’s position as its secretary.

On the same day, Raja Norazli alleged that, despite the interim injunction issued earlier that day, media reports stated that the plaintiffs, particularly Maarof, had been involved in the purported appointment of a Yang di-Pertuan Besar under Article 11 of the Negeri Sembilan Constitution 1959.

He claimed that the appointment disregarded the court order. The alleged breach led Raja Norazli and the council to seek leave from the High Court to initiate committal proceedings against the six individuals for contempt of court.

Roz then ruled that there was a prima facie case against the plaintiffs and ordered them to answer the committal application, as well as dismissed their application for a stay of committal proceedings pending the disposal of their appeal, which led to today’s decision.

No clean hands

The Court of Appeal panel also noted that the appellants did not approach them with clean hands in their decision today.

“The appellants seek an equitable read from this court, but had concurrently taken steps by filing a separate proceeding before the Kuala Lumpur High Court, via judicial review application, which directly concerns the subject matter of the present issues.

“(This is) notwithstanding the subsistence of the ad interim injunction order, where the first to fourth appellants actively sought concerning the jurisdiction of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar.

“Crucially, in initiating those collateral proceedings, the appellants failed to disclose to the Kuala Lumpur High Court both the existence of the ad interim injunction order and the fact that leave to commence committal proceedings has already been granted against them by the (Seremban) High Court in the present action.

“Such material of non-disclosure and litigation conduct is wholly incompatible with the equitable requirement of clean hands,” Amarjeet said.

The panel then awarded RM60,000 in costs to the respondent.

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