Ahmad Said
Datuk Seri Ahmad Said (born 1957) is the Menteri Besar of the state of Terengganu, Malaysia since 2008. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) which is part of the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional. He is currently the state assemblyman of Kijal, Terengganu.
[edit] Profile
Ahmad Said is a political science graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia, and was elected an assemblyman in 1990. He is currently married to Norliza Mahmud and Norshamilah Yahya, and has eight children with both women. His two wives live a kilometre apart.[1]
Within the party, he previously held the titles of Terengganu UMNO and Kemaman UMNO Youth Chief, and was also the Exco member of National UMNO Youth wing. His current position is that of Committee member of the Terengganu UMNO Youth Chief and holds the position of Kemaman UMNO division chief.
[edit] Menteri Besar of Terengganu
Following the 2008 Malaysian general election, Barisan Nasional managed to win a majority in the Terengganu state election garnering 24 out of 32 state seats on offer, with PAS winning the remaining 8 seats.
In the formation of the new Terengganu state government, the federal government under the then Prime Minister (PM) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi put forth the reappointment of Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh to a second term as Menteri Besar. Abdullah claimed Idris received full support of twenty-three of the 24 Barisan Nasional state assemblymen elected.[2]
In what political analysts described as a possible constitutional crisis, trouble began to precipitate after the Sultan of Terengganu, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is also the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia refused to re-appoint and swear in Idris as Menteri Besar.[3] Similar problems occurred in the state of Perlis where the PM's choice was also rejected and eventually the PM had to give in to the Raja of Perlis.[4]
On 22 March 2008, the office of the Sultan of Terengganu announced the appointment of Kijal assemblyman Ahmad Said instead of Idris Jusoh.[5]
The Prime Minister responded by saying that the appointment of Ahmad Said was "unconstitutional" as it went against the wishes of the assemblymen and the Prime Minister's office who have supported Idris Jusoh's candidacy for Menteri Besar.[6][7] The 22 other BN assemblymen had also pledged their support toward the appointment of Idris Jusoh according to the then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.[8]
In spite of threats to strip Ahmad Said of his UMNO membership "for disobeying the leadership", he went to the office in Wisma Darul Iman to begin the first day of his new appointment on 25 March 2008. Ahmad Said was subsequently stripped of his UMNO membership.[9] This technically disqualified him from representing the state UMNO and therefore commanding the majority in the legislative assembly to be appointed as Menteri Besar in the first place.[10]
The ruling party also planned to vote down the Sultan's choice through a motion of no-confidence by 22 UMNO state assemblymen. The opposition party Parti Islam SeMalaysia in the meantime promised that its assemblymen would support Ahmad Said as Menteri Besar.[11]
On 26 March 2008, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin met at Istana Negara to resolve the impasse.[12] The Prime Minister reversed his stance and decided to accept the King's appointment of Ahmad Said as Menteri Besar of Terengganu.[13][14] He also apologized to the King for the public spat over the appointment of the Menteri Besar, explaining that there was no intention to disparage or humiliate the royal household. The apparent backdown was due to threat that the royal household would be prepared to dissolve the state assembly if the motion of no-confidence was initiated against Ahmad Said, which would trigger another election in what is already a climate of discontent towards the ruling party and the possibility of dissenting assemblymen defecting to the opposition.[15][16]
The UMNO Supreme Council proceeded to endorse Ahmad Said as the new Menteri Besar of Terengganu. With the resolution of the impasse, Ahmad Said expressed his gratefulness over his appointment and paid tribute to Idris, an old friend he has known since university, for the work he has done for the Terengganu people so far and to seek his advice. After the swearing in ceremony, he also expressed hope in moving on to discharge his responsibility to the people and eradicate poverty within the state.[17][18]
[edit] References
- ^ Tan, Joceline (2011-11-11). "MB fights back to hold on to seat". The Star. http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2011/11/20/columnists/joceline/9921197&sec=joceline. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
- ^ "23 Terengganu Assemblymen Pledge Support For Idris Jusoh". Bernama. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=322230.
- ^ Carolyn Hong (2008-03-25). "State tussle, national crisis?". The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_220141.html. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "Malaysian king, prime minister in conflict over appointment as constitutional crisis looms". The Associated Press. 2008-03-24. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/24/asia/AS-GEN-Malaysia-Royal-Row.php. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "Malaysia: The MB For Terengganu Finally Appointed". Sin Chew. http://www.mysinchew.com/node/8893?tid=4.
- ^ "Terengganu MB Appointment Unconstitutional, Says Abdullah". Bernama. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=322201.
- ^ "PM: Appointing anyone else is against Constitution". The Star. March 24, 2008. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/24/nation/20733338&sec=nation. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
- ^ "23 Terengganu Assemblymen Pledge Support For Idris Jusoh, Says Najib". Bernama. March 24, 2008. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=322230. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
- ^ "Sultan's choice of MB stripped of Umno membership". The Star. 2008-03-23. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/23/nation/20730032. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ "Sultan's choice of MB stripped of Umno membership". The Star. 2008-03-23. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/23/nation/20730032. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ "PKR lodges report against Umno leaders and reps". The Star (Malaysia). 2008-03-25. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/25/nation/20740803&sec=nation. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "PM to see King over MB issue". The Star (Malaysia). 2008-03-26. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/26/nation/20747441&sec=nation. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "Ahmad Said stays Mentri Besar". Malaysia Insider. 2008-03-26. http://themalaysianinsider.com/mni/ahmad-said-to-stay-on-as-mb.html. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- ^ "Ahmad Said sworn in as Terengganu MB". The Star (Malaysia). 2008-03-30. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/30/nation/20080330130900&sec=nation. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ S JAYASANKARAN (2008-03-25). "Abdullah in sticky situation in Terengganu". The Business Times. http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,272409,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "Ahmad Said stays Mentri Besar". Malaysia Insider. 2008-03-26. http://themalaysianinsider.com/mni/ahmad-said-to-stay-on-as-mb.html. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- ^ "New Terengganu Menteri Besar Pays Tribute To Idris". Bernama. 2008-03-30. http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/state_news/news.php?id=323585&cat=et. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ ROSLI ZAKARIA (2008-03-30). "'Now we close ranks and work for the people'". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20080402233207/http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/2199536/Article/index_html. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
| Preceded by Idris Jusoh |
Menteri Besar of Terengganu 25 March 2008 – present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
|
||||||||
