Confidence vote best way to gauge support for new Terengganu MB, lawyers say

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — A vote of confidence will determine if newly-minted Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Razif Abdul Rahman commands the state's legislative body, prominent lawyers said amid the continuing crisis engulfing the northern state.

As things stand, the balance of power between BN and PR in the in the 32-seat state assembly is finely poised, with each holding 15 seats.

Bar Council president Christopher Leong said the simplest option to break any deadlock would require Razif to call for the legislative assembly to convene and a vote of confidence follows.

“Ordinarily, a Sultan would only resort to other means to ascertain this issue if for any reason the state assembly is not able to take such a vote,” Leong told The Malay Mail Online.

“In such an instance, the state constitution may also provide for a dissolution of at the request of the MB.

“Ultimately, the principle to bear in mind is that the discretion or decision to be exercised must reflect the rakyat's will,” he said, adding that if situation remains volatile a dissolution should be called.

According to east coast state's constitution, the mentri besar is left with two options if he loses the support of the majority: to offer his resignation together with the executive committee or ask for the state legislative assembly to be dissolved.  

However, it is in the prerogative of the state's royal authority sanction the request, which would subsequently result in a new line-up of state administrators or trigger state-wide polls.     

Former mentri besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said quit Umno to become an independent assemblyman late yesterday shortly after being replaced by Razif, plunging the state administration into a political crisis.

Ajil assemblyman Ghazali Taib announced his resignation shortly after Ahmad, followed by Bukit Besi assemblyman Roslee Daud.

But in a turn of events, Roslee retracted his resignation, leaving BN and PR on equal standing.

Ahmad, who was reappointed Terengganu Mentri Besar for a second term on May 9 last year, was forced to step down from office mid-term, reportedly due to the BN’s weakest polls performance in a decade.

The embattled lawmaker claimed he had asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to allow him to step down as mentri besar after his daughter’s wedding reception on May 17 but the Umno president reportedly disregarded the request as a “personal matter”, prompting Ahmad to quit the party.

The Terengganu political crisis is reminiscent of the Perak constitutional impasse in 2009, when PR lost control of the state after the three assemblymen switched side to become BN-friendly independents.

“If one were to compare the present scenario to the Perak crisis, then if the independents were to support PR, there should be a change of government,” said former Bar Council president, Lim Chee Wee.

However, Lim said the “best solution” would be to opt for a vote of confidence through the legislative assembly unlike the case of Perak, where Sultan Azlan Shah opted to interview the defectors at the palace before deciding that then-mentri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin still commanded the voice of the majority.

Lim said that the assembly should convene as soon as possible to resolve the doubt of the legitimacy of state government.

“If Razif opts to resign, the Sultan will then appoint the next mentri besar and the executive councillors.  

“But if the mentri besar losses the confidence of the majority, the new Mentri Besar may request that the legislative assembly to be dissolved and a statewide election would be held,”

Lim also pointed out that Terengganu state legal advisor Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid had erred in insisting that its legislative assembly speaker counted as representative.

The Terengganu Legislative Assembly Speaker Mohd Zubir Embong was appointed to the post, he noted.  

“It is a well-known parliamentary convention that the speaker remains independent and bipartisan and does not vote save to break a tie which is not partisan, which is not the case here if the speaker’s vote is counted for BN,” said Lim.

Azhar, was quoted by Bernama saying that Zubir, was counted along with the 14 BN assemblymen, leaving BN in power in Terengganu.

In last year’s general election, BN retained the state with 17 state seats against PR's 15.