Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said may be facing mounting pressure following a show of defiance against him by his own assemblymen.
MENTRI Besar Datuk Ahmad Said’s body language was quite defensive when he arrived at the Terengganu Legislative Assembly yesterday.
For several weeks now, he had been plagued by rumours that his own assemblymen were plotting to move a motion of no-confidence against him at the assembly sitting and he was probably expecting the worst as he took his seat.
His state exco members were in their places but the entire stretch of seats for the Barisan Nasional backbenchers were empty. His Barisan backbenchers had decided not to attend the sitting and it seemed like he had escaped the attempt at a no-confidence vote.
Either way, it was not good for him and it was embarrassing especially with the PAS assemblymen and the media gallery watching on.
A rebellion against his leadership as the Mentri Besar was truly on the boil.
The Terengganu Government is predominantly Umno, with only one MCA assemblyman. As such, an opposition against him from the ranks also undermines his position as the state Umno chief.
Ahmad, who became Mentri Besar just a little over a year ago, is on shaky ground.
Talk of a no-confidence move against his leadership had been brewing for some time.
A week before the assembly sitting, he lost his temper at a meeting and told those present that he was aware of what they were up to. He warned that he would fight back and would even sack the trouble-makers if he had to.
“We just listened. There is no point arguing with him when he is in one of his moods,” said one of the assemblymen.
Ahmad’s appointment as Mentri Besar had come on the heels of a political crisis in the state.
Umno wanted the technocratic Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh to be reappointed but the Terengganu palace had preferred Ahmad.
Idris was a dynamic Mentri Besar. He made an impact in his first term and implemented some high profile, albeit controversial, projects.
Ahmad has struggled to fill Idris’ shoes and spent most his first year on the job running down his predecessor’s work especially the wasteful Monsoon Cup.
People initially put up with his rhetoric but once the honeymoon ran out, he came under pressure to perform and deliver. And that was when his real problems began.
Ahmad is essentially a good grassroots politician but running a state as big and complex as Terengganu calls for much more.
Many in Terengganu were critical of Idris’ fast track mode of doing thing and of his association with various political and business figures. But under Ahmad, they felt the state had receded again into the backwaters.
The loss of the Kuala Terengganu by-election to PAS was also a blow to Ahmad’s standing.
Ahmad had also been unable to engage the assemblymen who were aligned to Idris. His abrasive style alienated many of them.
Then a few months ago, he undertook some drastic reshuffling in the state civil service as well as the government-linked corporations that resulted in political costs for him and resentment among many quarters.
More recently, there was talk that he had fallen out of favour with the palace, a perception reinforced by the open rebellion against him. The assemblymen, it is said, would not have been so bold if they did not sense that Ahmad had lost the support of the palace.
Some believe that the rebels are trying to send a message to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Terengganu is known as a swing state. Seats here are often won by very narrow majorities and it does not take much for the people to take their votes from one side to the other.
Ahmad’s opponents are probably trying to tell Najib that unless there is change in the Terengganu leadership, the state may swing to PAS in the next general election.
The assemblymen who were absent held a press conference to explain their absence, holding up their handphones to show reporters the threatening SMS messages that some of them had received the night before.
They will return to the assembly sitting today after assurances from the police but the stalemate between Ahmad and them is likely to drag on.
Ahmad may have escaped an attempt at a no-confidence vote but he has lost the confidence of a substantial number of his assemblymen.
Terengganu has 32 state seats of which 24 are held by the Barisan. Of these, 10 are openly opposed to him and apparently not all of the exco members are with him although they had dutifully turned up at the assembly sitting yesterday.
Ahmad came to power on the crest of a controversy and it looks like he is being pressured to go under equally controversial circumstances. But he is a street-fighter type of politician and he will fight to stay. What about his opponents?
“We will leave it in the hands of God and the party president,” said Ajil assemblyman Datuk Rosol Wahid
MENTRI Besar Datuk Ahmad Said’s body language was quite defensive when he arrived at the Terengganu Legislative Assembly yesterday.
For several weeks now, he had been plagued by rumours that his own assemblymen were plotting to move a motion of no-confidence against him at the assembly sitting and he was probably expecting the worst as he took his seat.
His state exco members were in their places but the entire stretch of seats for the Barisan Nasional backbenchers were empty. His Barisan backbenchers had decided not to attend the sitting and it seemed like he had escaped the attempt at a no-confidence vote.
Either way, it was not good for him and it was embarrassing especially with the PAS assemblymen and the media gallery watching on.
A rebellion against his leadership as the Mentri Besar was truly on the boil.
The Terengganu Government is predominantly Umno, with only one MCA assemblyman. As such, an opposition against him from the ranks also undermines his position as the state Umno chief.
Ahmad, who became Mentri Besar just a little over a year ago, is on shaky ground.
Talk of a no-confidence move against his leadership had been brewing for some time.
A week before the assembly sitting, he lost his temper at a meeting and told those present that he was aware of what they were up to. He warned that he would fight back and would even sack the trouble-makers if he had to.
“We just listened. There is no point arguing with him when he is in one of his moods,” said one of the assemblymen.
Ahmad’s appointment as Mentri Besar had come on the heels of a political crisis in the state.
Umno wanted the technocratic Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh to be reappointed but the Terengganu palace had preferred Ahmad.
Idris was a dynamic Mentri Besar. He made an impact in his first term and implemented some high profile, albeit controversial, projects.
Ahmad has struggled to fill Idris’ shoes and spent most his first year on the job running down his predecessor’s work especially the wasteful Monsoon Cup.
People initially put up with his rhetoric but once the honeymoon ran out, he came under pressure to perform and deliver. And that was when his real problems began.
Ahmad is essentially a good grassroots politician but running a state as big and complex as Terengganu calls for much more.
Many in Terengganu were critical of Idris’ fast track mode of doing thing and of his association with various political and business figures. But under Ahmad, they felt the state had receded again into the backwaters.
The loss of the Kuala Terengganu by-election to PAS was also a blow to Ahmad’s standing.
Ahmad had also been unable to engage the assemblymen who were aligned to Idris. His abrasive style alienated many of them.
Then a few months ago, he undertook some drastic reshuffling in the state civil service as well as the government-linked corporations that resulted in political costs for him and resentment among many quarters.
More recently, there was talk that he had fallen out of favour with the palace, a perception reinforced by the open rebellion against him. The assemblymen, it is said, would not have been so bold if they did not sense that Ahmad had lost the support of the palace.
Some believe that the rebels are trying to send a message to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Terengganu is known as a swing state. Seats here are often won by very narrow majorities and it does not take much for the people to take their votes from one side to the other.
Ahmad’s opponents are probably trying to tell Najib that unless there is change in the Terengganu leadership, the state may swing to PAS in the next general election.
The assemblymen who were absent held a press conference to explain their absence, holding up their handphones to show reporters the threatening SMS messages that some of them had received the night before.
They will return to the assembly sitting today after assurances from the police but the stalemate between Ahmad and them is likely to drag on.
Ahmad may have escaped an attempt at a no-confidence vote but he has lost the confidence of a substantial number of his assemblymen.
Terengganu has 32 state seats of which 24 are held by the Barisan. Of these, 10 are openly opposed to him and apparently not all of the exco members are with him although they had dutifully turned up at the assembly sitting yesterday.
Ahmad came to power on the crest of a controversy and it looks like he is being pressured to go under equally controversial circumstances. But he is a street-fighter type of politician and he will fight to stay. What about his opponents?
“We will leave it in the hands of God and the party president,” said Ajil assemblyman Datuk Rosol Wahid
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