I AM very fond of my Negri Sembilan hometown, Seri Menanti . They say I was born in the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, but my eccentric late father drove me in his blue Ford Popular all the way back to Seri Menanti to be registered as being born in Negri Sembilan.

I still, and maybe never will, know the wisdom of it all. Maybe it was to instill a sense of kampung belonging, although I grew up in the city.

Maybe, I will understand it as I get really older. Seri Menanti is also known as the Royal Town of Seri
Menanti.

Not much of a bustling town in the olden days, it was still a nice little village to come home to for Hari Raya or during school holidays.

Locals will call Seri Menanti by its short name Se’nanti, just like Jo’berg, short for Johannesburg in South Africa.

Last week, I received a call from another fellow Negri friend Kamel; he said I got invited to have lunch with
the soon-to-be new ruler of Negri Sembilan.

“Bro, we are having lunch with Tuanku Muhriz and I think we should go, at least to get to know the guy first
hand,” he said.

To that, I responded: “Why not, warigh? (warigh is a term of endearment among us Negri boys, much like the Spanish when they come from the same village they will greet each other as paisano!)

So off to the Istana we went. The main event of that day was the announcement made by the Tuanku Besar
Seri Menanti, the most senior among the four princes in the Negri Royal hierarchy, on the upcoming installation of the new 11th ruler of the State,

Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir. Tuanku Muhriz (we call our rule Yamtuan) will be formally installed as the 11th Ruler of Negri Sembilan on Oct 26.

The fun lasts from Oct 22 to 28, and I suggest you city folk try to find your way there to witness fi rsthand the rich customs and traditions being expressed at their finest!

In the olden days, the seven days and seven nights would take on a carnival atmosphere, with ronggeng, joget Siam and even a roulette table among the highlights.

I remember winning a little toy after throwing a ring onto the neck of an F&N bottle. My favourite finger food
would be sotong tumbuk bakar and kueh apam balek.

I am hoping for the same atmosphere, but I doubt roulette tables will be allowed. Tuanku Muhriz, who was
the Tuanku Besar Seri Menanti for four decades, was chosen (thank God) from among the four princes by
the four Chieftains (Undang) to be the next ruler after the demise of Tuanku Jaafar, the 10th ruler of Negri Sembilan.

Back to us at the palace, we waited in anticipation for the new ruler to come down and when he did, we were greeted by a man with a big genuine happy grin, and a white moustache, just like his great grandfather Tuanku Muhammad.

He shook hands and said apo khobar in his very thick Negri accent. Then his beautiful wife shook our hand, followed by the two sons, Tuanku Ali Redhauddin and Tuanku Zain Al-Abidin.

For me, the meeting was quite significant as the last time I stepped foot in the palace was over 40 years ago, when I attended the funeral of Tuanku Muhriz’s father Tuanku Munawir in 1967 when I was just 18 years old.

To many of us, Seri Menanti, along with the palace, had been “hijacked” by the late Tuanku Jaafar and his
family after Tuanku Jaafar was installed as the 10th ruler.

For he never was really attached to the Royal town and his family was detached from the rakyat, and that was sad.

They were too much of an Anglophile family for my taste as an ordinary rakyat. Tuanku Muhriz’s father, Tuanku Munawir, and Tuanku Jaafar shared the same father, that is the late Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the country’s first king and whose picture is featured on our currency.

Tuanku Munawir’s mother was the late Tuanku Kurshiah, the first wife of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, while Tuanku Jaafar’s mother was a Eurasian who took up the name Cik Puan Maimunah.

For over 40 years, the palace was out of bounds to the ordinary rakyat. I know this because I am from there and people do talk at the coffeeshops.

The installation of Tuanku Muhriz is a much awaited moment for the people who knew he would one day come back as the ruler, even after he and his family were “banished” for over four decades.

To this, I will say to you Sir: Welcome back to the throne that should have been yours in the first place four decades ago.

As one of your humble subjects, I welcome you as our real Yamtuan long in the making. Well done Sir! Daulat Tuanku!