Sunday March 16, 2008
Still unclear who will be Terengganu Mentri Besar
By R.S.N. MURALI, SIM LEOI LEOI and RAPHAEL WONG
PUTRAJAYA: The swearing-in of the Terengganu mentri besar is expected to take place today or tomorrow. But who the mentri besar will be is still not clear.
A group of 23 Barisan Nasional assemblymen met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at his office here for two hours yesterday. While some of them later said that state Barisan chief Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh would be retained as the mentri besar, there is no word yet from the Terengganu palace on who the man will be.
The speculation about Terengganu getting a new mentri besar has been rife since the last-minute postponement of the swearing-in ceremony scheduled earlier in the week. The Terengganu MB saga has gone on for a week with two names proposed as successors.
All 23 assemblymen are in support of Idris heading the state government and have appealed to the leadership to retain Idris for a second term.
They called on the Regency Advisory Council here as a last resort to have Idris retained but the meeting scheduled to be held at the Putrajaya Marriott hotel was deferred.
However, following the meeting with Abdullah, several senior assemblymen told The Star that there were signs that snags regarding the appointment of Idris as mentri besar would be resolved very soon.
“I can’t reveal what transpired during our brief session with the council’s representative, but it looks very optimistic although the meeting was deferred. Our confidence was further restored after meeting the Prime Minister,” said the assemblyman.
Another assemblyman said all signs pointed towards Idris being retained.
“It has been a tumultuous week but all ranks in Terengganu Barisan have unanimously decided for Idris,” he said.
Asked whether the swearing-in ceremony would be held by latest tomorrow, the assemblyman replied, “I guess so.”
Another senior representative said Terengganu could not afford to have a new mentri besar when several development projects were still in the planning stage.
Earlier, the assemblymen arrived at the Prime Minister's Office at 1.50pm in an 11-car convoy.
Asked who would be appointed to the mentri besar’s post, a member of the convoy who stopped at the gate of the office, replied: “Orang lama (the former guy).”
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