Political upheaval in Malaysia’s Perlis state as Chief Minister resigns, 3 assemblymen sacked

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s smallest state Perlis has been plunged into political uncertainty with the resignation of Chief Minister Mohd Shukri Ramli and sacking of three assemblymen from his party, sending ripples across the country’s political alliances.

Shukri, from the Islamist Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), cited health reasons for stepping down, but said he was blindsided by the withdrawal of support from state assemblymen from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition made up of PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

In a press conference broadcast “live” on his Facebook page on Thursday (Dec 25), Shukri reportedly said he was unaware of statutory declarations filed by eight assemblymen withdrawing support for him until the day they were submitted. 

“I only learned about it on the day of the incident. It shows how cunningly they planned this,” he said, as reported by news outlet Free Malaysia Today.

Shukri said he was disappointed with the three sacked assemblymen – Saad Seman, Fakhrul Anwar Ismail, and Ridzuan Hashim – for pulling their support.

“I made a mistake by being too nice and appreciative of the friendship that I had (with them). I did not expect that this friendship would result in me being treated this way,” he said.

The other five PN assemblymen who withdrew support for Shukri were from Bersatu, and PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has called on its coalition partner to act against them.

Tuan Ibrahim said Bersatu must take stern measures as a sign of respect towards its fellow party in PN, and to ensure that discipline within the coalition and ties remained intact, Free Malaysia Today reported.

PN is the federal opposition pact.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said on Friday (Dec 26) the party has presented a list of names for the Perlis Chief Minister post for Perlis' constitutional monarch Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail’s consideration. He declined to reveal the names, reported news outlet Utusan Malaysia.

ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SAYS WILL SEEK BY-ELECTIONS

There are 15 seats in Perlis’ state assembly, and the three seats of the sacked PAS assemblymen have been declared vacant. 

PAS holds six of the remaining seats, Bersatu holds five, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat holds one.

Perlis state legislative assembly speaker Rus’ele Eizan said he would notify the Election Commission of the vacancies and request by-elections be held, despite the assembly having exceeded its three-year term.

Although the state constitution does not require by-elections to be held if vacancies occur after that duration, Rus’ele said he would exercise his discretion as speaker “in the interest of stability”.

“In my judgment, based on the current developments in Perlis, the three unexpected vacancies affect the majority of the state legislative assembly, and in such circumstances the seats must be filled in the interest of stability so the government can continue to serve the people effectively,” he reportedly said in a press conference broadcast “live” on Facebook.

UMNO YOUTH CHIEF CALLS FOR PN TO BE DISSOLVED

The political upheaval in Perlis could have wider implications for the PN pact as well as national politics, Malaysia news outlets have reported.

After news of the three PAS assemblymen’s sacking, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Youth chief Akmal Saleh called for PN to be dissolved, and a revival of a previous pact between UMNO and PAS.

“Perlis oh Perlis. I’ve been saying it since way before (Malaysia's November 2022 general election) — we should’ve strengthened Muafakat Nasional, not PN,” Akmal posted on Facebook on Thursday.

“Now everyone’s true colours are showing, stabbed in the back. Might as well dissolve PN and bring back Muafakat Nasional,” he wrote. 

Muafakat Nasional was an alliance forged between UMNO and PAS in 2019 against the Pakatan Harapan government that came into power after Malaysia’s 2018 General Election. Bersatu was part of Pakatan Harapan at the time, but quit in February 2020.

UMNO is currently part of Anwar’s unity government alongside the Pakatan Harapan coalition. 

Akmal’s suggestion has been backed by PAS Information Chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who reportedly said: “I fully support the proposal to revive Muafakat Nasional.”

Fadhli called it “the key to strength and the resurgence of Muslim unity”.

“Once UMNO-(Barisan Nasional) declares that they are leaving the alliance with (Pakatan) Harapan, we can relaunch (Muafakat Nasional),” Fadhli added in his Facebook post.

PN currently governs four states in Malaysia – Perlis, Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu – all of which have chief ministers from PAS. 

Cracks are showing in the unity government, with UMNO leaders criticising a lawmaker from the Democratic Action Party – a Pakatan Harapan component – this week for purportedly celebrating the High Court’s verdict on Monday denying former PM and former UMNO president Najib Razak’s bid to serve his remaining jail term under house arrest.

Anwar has called for calm and all parties to respect the country’s judiciary.