Tuesday, December 30, 2008

New Yam Tuan


"Seperti
pinang pulang ke tampuk,
Seperti sireh pulang ke gagang ..."

The Tunku Besar of Seri Menanti, Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir, was proclaimed as the 11th Yang di-Pertuan Besar or "Yam Tuan" of my home state of Negeri Sembilan yesterday following the death of his uncle, Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman on Saturday.

The four undang or territorial chieftains from the luak of Sungai Ujong, Johol, Jelebu and Rembau have chosen him over the three princes of the late Tuanku Jaafar. An only son and at the age of 19, Tuanku Muhriz had been passed over by the then undang in 1967 upon the untimely death of his father Tuanku Munawir, the 9th Yam Tuan, as he was considered too young then. His uncle Tuanku Jaafar, then a career diplomat, was installed as Yam Tuan instead.

This must come as a huge relief for many of us orang nogori as we have watched with some anxiety and trepidation over the years the extravagant goings-on in the lives of the Jaafar siblings. Avid party goers, they have been busy filling the high society pages of the Malaysian Tatler, the men elegantly tuxedoed and their women dripping with jewellery. Of late, they have also been featured in the business pages of the local mass media, but perhaps for the wrong reasons.

I do believe the undang yang berempat have made no mistake this time.

P.S: Although he is a few months younger than me, Tuanku Muhriz was one year my senior at the King George V Primary School in Seremban in the late 50's. A good pupil, he had earned a double promotion somewhere along the way.

8 comments:

  1. Captain, initially I thought there was a mistake, but having read about how he was passed over, I thought they did the right thing this time in installing him. After reading your entry on the Jaafar siblings, I am now convinced.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Capt,

    My wishes to all N9 citizens for a prosperous life under the rule of the new Yam Tuan.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Ancient Mariner,

    Just surfing through, thought I drop in to say "hello". Nice blog you have!

    I'm particularly interested in your piece on Tuanku Mukhriz and I am so happy for him. I think justice is served and seen to have been served!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am from Negeri Sembilan and I am proud to say at last my Undangs have made the right choice.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Captain,

    Interesting to note that you were in the same year as me at KGV (Primary) Seremban.

    We "migrated" to Kuala Lumpur in 1959

    The T. Jaafar siblings had 41 years to endear themselves to the rakyat of NS, especially to us Minangs.

    Unfortunately, they chose to squander it all away with their life style.

    Associating themselves with charlatans and flamboyant deceivers like VINOD SEKHAR erodes their public image further.

    BUT WE CANNOT DENY THE FACT THAT TUANKU MUHRIZ IS THE RIGHTFUL HEIR TO THE THRONE.

    “Akhirnya pinang pulang ke tampuk, sireh pulang ke ganggang”

    URANG AWAK

    ReplyDelete
  6. Daulat Tuanku Muhriz!

    Rakyat Negeri Sembilan rasa amat gembira dan syukur atas pemilihan Tuanku sebagai Yang Di Pertuan Besar ke 11.

    Semoga maruah Negeri Sembilan dan rakyatnya terpelihara di bawah payung naungan Tuanku dan kerajaan yang berintegriti, adil dan saksama.

    Ampun Tuanku

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sir
    I watched the Royal Burial live on TV. I could hear a loud gasp when the Undang announced the successor. Certain pembesar looked ill at ease too during the solemn ceremony, tapping the knee, fiddling here and there, looking at the (Rolex) watch during the doa recitation. What a terrible impression that left on me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Party(s) is over for the previous household. Think more unsuccessful & stinking business deals will surface.

    Congrads to all orang Nogori for their new YAM Tuan. Modern, moderate, smart & respectable Royal House! Join the likes of Perak, Selangor & Trengganu.

    Kunta Kinte

    ps - GUip, anyway that is not a Rolex.........it is one that is much more expensive that that! Have u read in the pepers that even people were even given with watch that is close to hundreds of thousands?

    ReplyDelete

Dear Reader,

This blog promotes freedom of speech and I invite fair comment. This is not a chat room and I would appreciate if you could identify yourself. However, if you prefer to remain anonymous please note that remarks that are deemed grossly inappropriate, maliciously defamatory, extremely vulgar or ad hominem attacks (against my person) will be deleted.

Thank you for visiting and commenting.

The Ancient Mariner