ARAU: The Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, has expressed sadness on the political situation in the state over the mentri besar crisis.
In his address at the swearing-in of Bintong state assemblyman Datuk Seri Azlan Man as the Perlis Mentri Besar at Istana Arau, the Ruler said he was disappointed that none of the nine other Barisan Nasional assemblymen attended the ceremony on Thursday.
Only three Pakatan Harapan and two PAS elected representatives were present.
Barisan had won 10 of the 15 seats in the state legislative assembly in the general election on May 9 to form the state government with a two-thirds majority.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said it was sad that Barisan assemblymen had given more importance to the choice of the mentri besar candidate than getting down to the business of forming a state government.
"The appointment of the mentri besar has taken a long time compared with other states. It can be said that Perlis is the last to form the state government. Surely, there must be a reason why this has happened.
"A similar situation emerged in 2008 and it took two weeks (to form the government). It is due to the vested interests of some people.
"I do not wish to mention names but I think you people will know because a large number of that group is not present," he said.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said that up to Wednesday (May 23), he had shortlisted two names for mentri besar – Datuk Seri Azlan Man and Tambun Tulang state assemblyman Datuk Ismail Kassim, the younger brother of Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim.
Shahidan is the chairman of the Perlis Umno liaison committee.
He said that he did not want to appoint a mentri besar, who would become a puppet controlled by "external forces".
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said that recently, he granted an audience to each of the 10 Barisan assemblymen and asked them several questions.
"When I asked them whether YAB (Azlan) could be appointed the mentri besar, many of them said 'no' while two or three said they will try to accept him. I asked them who was more qualified and to give me the name.
"I found out from their replies that the elected representatives were more submissive to the state Umno liaison committee chief than the federal Umno leaders," he said, adding that it was as though someone had a hold over them.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said he was reluctant to appoint Ismail because he did not want to choose a mentri besar who would become a puppet controlled by "external forces".
He said the mentri besar had to take the oath of secrecy and that if Ismail was appointed as the mentri besar, he would reveal secrets to his elder brother Shahidan.
"I wish to be frank. I do not want external forces to control the mentri besar. If Shahidan had wanted to be the mentri besar, he should have contested a state seat but he contested a parliamentary seat," he said.
Shahidan is the MP for Arau.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said that initially, he had not wanted to reveal anything, thinking that it could just be his assumption.
"But look at what happened today. My assumption turned out to be 100% correct because the nine other Barisan state assemblymen were not present, meaning they are controlled by someone.
"They have all been dragged to Kuala Lumpur. They did not want to accord respect and attend today's function," he said.
The Ruler said he did not understand why all the assemblymen were absent as the invitations were sent out two days earlier when all of them were still in Perlis.
"This is what I was worried about all along. Today, that suspicion has turned out to be true. This is a minor matter but if it is allowed to go on, it could get worse. I hope all of you understand what I want to send across.
"I want Perlis to be progressive and the people to benefit – all levels of the people regardless of community and religion. The fear is that the wrong choice of mentri besar will result in only one group enjoying benefits.
"I seek forgiveness for what I have said. I have revealed what I should not have said, but that is my sincere feeling. I hope the people of the state understand my choice (of mentri besar)," he said. – Bernama
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