With the resignation of ex-Menteri Besar Ahmad Said from Umno (who is also the State Assemblyman for Kijal), plus two other State Assemblymen (from Ajil and Bukit Besi), the Terengganu State Assembly is now in a deadlock. That will make 15 versus 15 (if the Speaker is included — or else it will be just 14) with three ‘independents’.
There are 32 state constituencies in Terengganu and in the May 2013 general election Barisan Nasional won 17 seats (all Umno) while Pakatan Rakyat won 15 (PAS 14 and PKR 1). And, most important to note, is that PAS won four of the eight Parliament seats (Kuala Nerus, Kuala Terengganu, Marang and Dungun) while Umno also won four (Besut, Setiu, Hulu Terengganu and Kemaman) to make it 50:50.
PKR engaged PAS in three-corner fights in Seberang Takir, Kota Putera and Bukit Besi, all three seats that were won by Umno. Even though Umno still won more votes than PAS and PKR combined, the question still remains that had PKR not engaged in three-corner fights in these three seats would PAS now be the government in Terengganu?
In fact, PKR also lost in Permaisuri, which saw another three-corner fight with an independent candidate, who did not do too badly by winning almost 20% of the votes (even though Umno still won more votes than the PKR and the independent candidate combined — but by just about 1,000 votes). Hence if it was a straight fight could PKR have won this seat?
PAS also lost Kemasik in another three-corner fight where the combined PAS and independent candidate votes was 300 short of the Umno votes. Nevertheless, if it was a straight fight, PAS could have won this seat, as some votes Umno won could have been ‘protest’ votes resulting from the three-corner contest.
In short, it was huru hara (turmoil) in Terengganu in the recent general election in May last year and had things been better organised it is not impossible for Pakatan Rakyat to have won that state. All they needed was just another two seats.
Ahmad Said’s appointment as Menteri Besar in 2008 was also hura hara. The popular candidate was the then Menteri Besar, Idris Jusoh, but His Highness the Sultan wanted Ahmad Said instead. Hence there were anti-Sultan protests organised by the pro-Idris Jusoh faction.
(Note: ‘natang’ is short for ‘binatang’, which is considered derogatory in Malay ‘culture’).
Is Terengganu headed for a Constitutional Crisis? If it is this is not the first time. In the 1959 general election, the first to be held two years after Malaya gained independence from the British, PAS, then known as the Pan Malayan Islamic Party or PMIP, won Terengganu by winning 13 state seats. The Alliance party won only seven seats while Sir Onn Jaafar’s Parti Negara won four.
Daud Samad from PAS was elected the Menteri Besar but he did not last long, though. Two years later, two PAS State Assemblymen and another three from Parti Negara defected to Umno.
A vote of no confidence was then passed against the PAS government in the Terengganu State Assembly and the government fell and Tan Sri Ibrahim Fikri Mohammad took over as the new Umno Menteri Besar of Terengganu.
Umno held on to Terengganu until the 1999 general election when Barisan Alternatif took power against the backdrop of Anwar Ibrahim’s incarceration and the Reformasi movement but lost the state in the following general election in 2004 after the breakup of Barisan Alternatif when DAP left the coalition due to their unhappiness regarding Hudud.
So Terengganu has always been in a state of huru hara. But the latest huru hara is most interesting indeed. What happened to PAS in 1961 may now happen to Umno. And if PAS (or Pakatan Rakyat) does manage to take power in Terengganu it may be extremely difficult for Barisan Nasional to win back the state in the coming general election.
And this is what happens when a Prime Minister is surrounded by a bunch of idiots. They will tell the emperor that his clothes are lovely when in fact the emperor is stark naked. And is it surprising that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants Najib Tun Razak ousted and replaced?
Maybe I can start making plans to return to Terengganu, the state I called home for 20 years from 1974 to 1994. But then maybe not because Terengganu under PAS may most likely also push for Hudud and I will probably be the first to be charged for heresy, apostasy and various other ‘crimes against God’.
Anyway, that is another subject for another time. I just hope that if Pakatan Rakyat does manage to take power in Terengganu they will remember all the mistakes they made since 2000 and not repeat those mistakes or else come the next general election Umno will be back in power.
Oh, and by the way, this is my favourite Terengganu song, Ulek Mayang, which I never tire of hearing.Hidup Terengganu Kita!
