PAKATAN Harapan's dream of making its vice-president Husam Musa (pic, left) the Mentri Besar of Kelantan went up in smoke after the palace revoked his Datuk title on Tuesday.
Husam, who is Amanah vice-president, may go on and win a seat in the next general election but it will be quite impossible for him to become the mentri besar if Pakatan wins the state.
It was a clear and powerful signal about how the Kelantan palace and, in particular, Sultan Muhammad V feel about Husam.
And just in case the message did not hit home, the palace also stripped state Amanah chairman Datuk Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah of his Datukship.
The pair received the official notification on Tuesday (Feb 6) and returned their titles on Wednesday morning.
There is intense speculation among the government circles in Kelantan that the palace has also revoked the DK title awarded to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2002.
The DK title, or Darjah Keramat Yang Amat Dihormati, is the highest award in the state.
Wan Abdul Rahim, who was formerly the State Assembly Speaker when he was with PAS, said he was shocked to receive a call from the State Secretary's office last Friday (Feb 2) informing him that his Datukship would be revoked.
He said he was in the dark as to what could have caused the palace to act against him.
"As a loyal Kelantanese, I accept what happened. It is not a new thing in Kelantan politics, I do not regard it as a setback for Amanah," he said.
The incident is now the subject of intense discussion among Kelantanese. Some see it as a reprimand and a sign of the Sultan's displeasure, others regard it more seriously as a rejection by the palace.
But Kelantanese are well aware that Husam has been persona non-grata with the palace for several years.
Husam, who won the Salor state seat on a PAS ticket, was a state exco member and widely regarded as a possible successor to the late Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat.
But the first hint of trouble came after the 2013 general election when the palace did not agree to him being reappointed as a state exco member and Nik Aziz, who was his political mentor, had no choice but to drop him from the list.
Things got worse for Husam after Nik Aziz died in 2015 because his protector was gone.
Husam did not take it well and grew increasingly critical of the PAS government.
He finally joined Amanah last year and was immediately appointed a vice-president and projected as Pakatan's mentri besar candidate.
The revocation of Dr Mahathir's title has yet to be officially confirmed, but if it is true, then as one Kelantan government official put it: "It is a rejection of Pakatan Harapan as well as Amanah".
Last December, after he was criticised by the Selangor Ruler, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, over remarks he made about "Bugis pirates", Dr Mahathir and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali returned the awards bestowed upon them by the state.
The former prime minister and Pakatan chairman's relationship with the royal houses has never been sweet because of the way he tried to clip their wings when he was on top.
Dr Mahathir was not on the guest list at the swearing-in as well as the grand installation ceremony of Yang Di Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V. He is also in the bad books of the Sultans of Johor and Pahang.
Pakatan thought he would be their passport to what is known as the "deep state" – that body of institutions which the opposition parties have no access to.
But he is definitely a liability when it comes to the royal institution.
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