Silat kilat, that’s what it is. Terengganu has just shed its reputation as the sleepy hollow of Malaysia in a lightning turn of events that has left federal politicians gasping for breath.
In seven days, its sultan has cast aside the state’s incumbent Mentri Besar, appointed a ‘streetfighter’ sort of fellow as its new chief minister, and is now moving towards a final showdown with Umno’s highest leadership.
Sultan Mizan may be right or wrong in his choice of appointing Ahmad Said as mentri besar but for what it’s worth, it is truly something to see a ruler stand up to the dictating of federal politics to make his own political choice.
On Saturday, Ahmad Said was supposed to be sworn in after 14 days of uncertainty over the state government’s leadership. However, as a result of the boycott by 22 state assemblymen who support Idris Jusoh, Ahmad Said only received his letter of appointment from the palace and was told to wait for his swearing-in ceremony to be held in three days.
On Sunday, however, Umno sacked Ahmad, stripping him from all his posts and his membership.
It is unclear whether the sacking is effective but if it is, this may make Ahmad Said the first Independent Mentri Besar in Malaysian history. That is if he doesn’t hop over to PAS, PKR, DAP (stranger things have happened) or challenge the legitimacy of the sacking.
Ahmad Said, who is Kemaman Umno chief, is said to be a gauche sort of politician, the sort who’d use fisticuffs rather than words to settle an argument. Why the palace has taken a shine to him is a mystery. In fact, quizzed about this in the past few days, Ahmad Said declares: ‘I never asked for this job. I only knew about my appointment as the menteri besar two days before receiving the letter of appointment form the Regency Advisory Council and I was asked to keep it a secret. Honestly, I do not know the reason. And I do not know if it was proper to decline an offer by the Sultan. I will leave it to you to make the assumption on my appointment.’
We may never know the reason. This could be another one of those ‘OSA state secret’-sort of thing. What we do know is Ahmad Said has been frequenting Istana Tamu having chats with Sultan Mizan before the appointment, after the appointment, etc.
What we do know is Ahmad Said, 51, is grinning a lot these days, his crooked toothy smile plastered in all the papers.
What we also know is the Sultan dislikes Idris Jusoh. Why, we don’t know. Sultan Mizan has kept the offence to himself.
Idris, who is Kijal assemblyman and state liaison chief for Umno, is Pak Lah’s choice for Mentri Besar. A suave, urbane creature, he had received his letter of appointment from Pak Lah earlier on and was under the impression this meant an automatic reappointment to the post of MB. His shock and consternation when the grinning Ahmad Said is called to the Istana instead is said to be of such a degree he immediately lost weight. Terengganu-folk report him looking thin and rather dishevelled in just three days.
In contrast, the ungainly Ahmad Said is said to be looking spiffy in his new suit and songkok, his overall bearing confident and cheery to match.
On Sunday, when Ahmad Said went to the palace to receive his letter from the ruler, 22 state assemblymen rushed over to protest the appointment. These 22 assemblymen handed over a signed petition declaring their intention to boycott Ahmad Said’s swearing in ceremony.
They also declared their intention to march against the decision. The protest march was to take place from Seri Iman, the official residence of the Mentri Besar, to the palace – a distance of 500m.
The fervour and sincerity of these politicians, however, appears to be suspect. As ‘short’ as the distance of the proposed protest march. By Monday, news filtered out that among the 22, many in fact supported Ahmad Said for MB. They were just signing the petition because it was the thing to do. Playing some good old Terengganu wayang kulit for the amusement of the Umno top leadership lest they be accused of treason against Pak Lah.
This morning, Idris Jusoh is reported grovelling at the palace’s feet, begging for forgiveness for disrespecting his highness, declaring over and over again he is willing to abide by the Sultan’s decisions ‘if’ such decisions were ‘good for the Rakyat.’
Idris appears to be repenting over some misunderstanding with the palace and states he is willing to ask for forgiveness if he has offended the Sultan.
Genuine remorse or is Idris Jusoh attempting to stave off a complete freeze-out in his
home state?
Ahmad Said says he has the support of seven out of the eight Umno Terengganu divisions. Idris says he has the written support of four (Kuala Terengganu, Jertih, Kuala Nerus and Besut) plus the endorsement of Pak Lah and deputy PM Najib Razak.
There is now a possibility the Sultan’s decision may be challenged legally.
Shad Saleem Faruqi, professor of law at Universiti Teknologi Mara, calls the situation a constitutional crisis with no precedence for a solution. Pak Lah himself openly defends Idris Jusoh’s claim to the position. ‘Appointments made other than this is against the constitution and is not valid,’ he said in an immediate response to the crisis.
But Sulaiman Abdullah, former Bar Council president, says the Sultan’s exercise of power is legal and legitimate. According to an NST report, Sulaiman says Section 1 (2) (a) of the Eighth Schedule of the Federal Constitution permits a ruler of a state to act in his discretion to appoint a Mentri Besar. He says if the ruler has made the wrong choice, the test is the first meeting of the legislative assembly when a vote of no-confidence can be passed. ‘If that happens, the Mentri Besar either resigns or advises the ruler to dissolve the legislative assembly.’ The ruler, he says can withhold consent for a request to dissolve the assembly.
In appointing Ahmad Said, the Terengganu palace had declared it was invoking Clause 14 paragraph (2) (a) of the state constitution.
Whatever the case, tiny Terengganu is rocking the nation.
Now perhaps a busload of Umno chaps from Perak will roll up and give the Terengganu Umno members a lengthy sermon on respecting the ruler. After all, they did such a good job on Lim Kit Siang.
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