KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Datuk Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman was tonight sworn in as the new Terengganu mentri besar, succeeding Datuk Seri Ahmad Said.

The 48-year-old Seberang Takir assemblyman’s term will start from when he swears his oath of secrecy before the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, state news wire reported Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak saying in a statement.

Ahmad, 57, was first appointed mentri besar on March 23, 2008 and reappointed on May 9 last year.

The Kijal assemblyman stepped down from office mid-term today, just a year after leading the Barisan Nasional (BN) to one of its worst performances after the coalition succeeded in wresting control of the state from PAS rule in Election 2004.

The BN barely kept the state government with 17 state seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 15 seats in Election 2013.

Under Ahmad’s leadership, the BN also won only half of the eight federal seats in Terengganu.

In Election 2008, the BN coalition had snagged 24 out of 32 state seats under the leadership of the-then Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, with the remaining eight won by the opposition PAS.

Despite the BN victory, the state Ruler declined to reappoint Idris — the coalition’s choice — as mentri besar for a second term, choosing Ahmad instead.

The four-day impasse between the palace and the ruling coalition nearly caused a constitutional crisis in the state that ended after then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi backed down and accepted the Terengganu sultan’s choice.