KING VERSUS PRIME MINISTER IN TERENGGANU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000202

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR EAP/MTS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MY
SUBJECT: KING VERSUS PRIME MINISTER IN TERENGGANU
CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 195 - MORE UMNO CHALLENGES

B. KUALA LUMPUR 185 - POST-ELECTION SCENE

C. 07 KUALA LUMPUR 1377 - RALLY AND RIOT ENSUES

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark
for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

Summary
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1. (C) The royal household in Terengganu has gone against
the choice of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his United
Malays National Organization (UMNO) party and appointed its
own candidate to become Chief Minister of the state, a
decision that threatens a constitutional crisis and pits
Prime Minister Abdullah against Malaysia's King, Sultan
Mizan. The King has refused to re-appoint the outgoing Chief
Minister Idris Jusoh and has instead issued a letter of
appointment to Ahmad Said. UMNO leaders called the royal
household's selection unconstitutional as Ahmad does not
command a majority of support in the state assembly. The
party has threatened to expel Ahmad if he goes through with
the swearing-in ceremony on March 26. Such a scenario could
leave the state in limbo pending a compromise, or force the
palace to dissolve the recently elected state assembly and
call for new elections. The struggle in Terengganu is
playing out against the backdrop of Abdullah's significantly
weakened standing following the March 8 elections and the
reassertion of royal prerogative in at least three other
states. End Summary.

Constitutional Crisis: King versus Prime Minister
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2. (SBU) A constitutional crisis is brewing in Malaysia after
the Terengganu's Regency Advisory Council appointed a new
chief minister in defiance of PM Abdullah's choice for the
post. The appointment of Ahmad Said as Chief Minister of
Terengganu on March 23 over incumbent Chief Minister Idris
Jusoh has pitted the PM who supports the latter against
Malaysia's King Sultan Mizan who is also the Sultan of
Terengganu. Although according to Malaysian law, the Sultan
cannot reign over his state during his term of appointment as
the King of the country (Malaysia's kingship is rotated every
five years among the nine Sultans),Sultan Mizan still has a
hold on the state through his ten year old son who co-reigns
the state with a three-member Regency Advisory Council headed
by Mizan's brother. Responding to the appointment, PM
Abdullah opined that since Idris had the support of 23 out of
the 24 state assembly members (except for Said),the
appointment of any other person to the post is
unconstitutional and not valid. The PM justified his
position by explaining that state rulers appoint the chief
ministers on the basis that the chief ministers have the
support and confidence of the majority of the elected state
assembly members.

The King and the State Constitution
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3. (SBU) Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail and Minister in
the PM's Department in charge of legal affairs Mohd Zaid
Ibrahim publicly supported the PM's position and added that
Terengganu's state constitution is very clear that the Regent
and Regent Advisory Council must appoint a chief minister who
is a member of the state legislative assembly who commands
majority support in the assembly. Gani also explained that
the Federal Constitution does not grant the sultan, as the
sitting King, the right to nominate anyone for the Chief
Minister's post. The AG added he will seek an audience with
the King to clarify the issues relating to the appointment of
the chief minister. Commenting on the controversy, Zaid
explained that only in cases of a deadlock where multiple
parties are involved does the ruler have the discretion to
appoint the person he thinks has the support of the majority.
The Minister was referring to the Perak state where the
Regent had to intervene in the appointment of the Chief
Minister after the March 8 election when none of the
political parties garnered an absolute majority in the state
assembly. In a related case in Perlis, the ruler did not
appoint the UMNO nominated incumbent Chief Minister Shahidan
Kassim who failed to get the support of the majority of
assembly members in the state assembly (ref B).

The Crisis in Terengganu
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KUALA LUMP 00000202 002 OF 002




4. (SBU) The crisis in Terengganu started immediately after
the March 8 general election when the ruling National Front
coalition (Barisan Nasional or BN) retained control of
Terengganu by winning 24 out of the 32 state assembly seats.
In normal circumstances, the incumbent Chief Minister Idris
Jusoh would present the results to the state ruler with a
letter of appointment from the UMNO party president (PM
Abdullah) endorsing his appointment as Chief Minister.
However, in Terengganu's case, the State's Regency Advisory
Council refused to give an appointment to Idris Jusoh to
present the results and the letter from the party president.


5. (SBU) Opposition sources claimed that the refusal to
endorse Idris Jusoh stemmed from Sultan Mizan's unhappiness
with the way Idris administered the state since he became the
Chief Minister in March 2004. They claim that Idris bypassed
the ruler on major decisions affecting the state, acted as if
he was the sultan, and focused on "mega projects" (including
building a crystal mosque) instead of poverty eradication
projects in Terengganu, the second poorest state in the
country after Sabah. Online news portal Malaysiakini
reported that the Sultan was also unhappy with the rough
manner the police and the Idris-led state government had
handled the September 2007 Batu Buruk riot (ref C) and a
tussle with opposition Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS)
supporters on polling day.

Options for Terengganu
--------------


6. (U) The Terengganu State UMNO Liaison Committee has
already warned Ahmad Said that he will be sacked from the
party if he swears in as Chief Minister on March 26. State
UMNO Liaison Secretary Rosol Wahid pointed out that Ahmad
will be going against the party constitution for failing to
abide by PM Abdullah's decision to retain Idris Jusoh as the
Chief Minister. Nevertheless, Ahmad still claims he has the
support of the UMNO grassroots including seven out of the
eight UMNO divisions within the state.


7. (U) Constitutional expert Professor Aziz Bari told local
media that the boycott of the swearing in ceremony and the
sacking of Ahmad from UMNO would have no effect on the palace
decision. He added that UMNO/BN assembly members will have
to wait for the first sitting of the Terengganu state
assembly in order to pass a motion of no confidence against
Ahmad. In such circumstance, the Regency Advisory Council
would then have to name another person who enjoys the support
of the majority of the elected representatives or call for a
snap state election. Although there would be no state
government to request for dissolution, the palace could still
call for a state election based on the sultan's reserve
powers. Aziz stated that this power is available in
exceptional circumstances and may be evoked in order to
prevent chaos in the state.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) Sultan Mizan is one of at least four hereditary Malay
rulers to exercise renewed royal prerogative following the
March 8 electoral set-back for Prime Minister Abdullah. The
rulers of Selangor, Perak, and Perlis all played significant
roles in formulating the new state executive committees and
in appointing their respective states' new chief ministers.
In the case of Perlis, the ruler went against the Prime
Minister's decision, but acted with a firm basis in the state
constitution. Unfortunately for Abdullah, the crisis in
Terengganu requires him to stare down the sitting King.
Mizan's biggest weapon is the ability to dissolve the newly
elected state assembly and call for new elections, but such a
move would not change the situation assuming UMNO repeats its
earlier election result in Terengganu. For his part,
Abdullah must be careful in his dealings with Mizan so as not
to denigrate the institution of the King, and also keeping in
mind that the King's voice could be critical if Malaysia were
to enter a period of national political crisis. Not since
the 1970s have the royals exerted such influence in the
management of their states. Now in the 21st century, the
biggest constitutional crisis Malaysia faces is deciding
whether the royals are really anything more than figureheads,
or whether they have an active role to play in forming the
government.
SHEAR