Perlis MB resigns amid state assembly crisis after three PAS assemblymen are sacked, raising questions over PN’s majority and government stability
PETALING JAYA: The political crisis in Perlis has deepened following the resignation of Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli (pic), coming just a day after PAS terminated the membership of three of its state assemblymen, triggering unexpected vacancies in the Perlis State Legislative Assembly.
Universiti Utara Malaysia Malaysian Political Analysis Institute director Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said the crisis must be understood through the numerical reality of the Perlis assembly, which consists of 15 seats – nine held by PAS, five by Bersatu and one by PKR.
“The crisis emerged when three PAS assemblymen openly stated that they no longer supported the menteri besar, in line with the position of five Bersatu assemblymen, which in turn affected the majority support of the state government,” he told theSun.
Kamarul said in a parliamentary system, political legitimacy and governability cannot be assessed solely on the basis that a menteri besar resigned voluntarily on personal grounds such as health.
“When majority support among state assemblymen has been affected or becomes unclear, the political legitimacy of the state government is also eroded, as the government’s ability to govern depends directly on majority support in the assembly.
“In such circumstances, the governability of the government becomes weak, executive decisions are easily questioned and a perception emerges that the government is in a temporary or fragile state, even though the assembly has not been dissolved.”
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya political analyst Dr Muhammad Tafik Yaakub said the resignation of the menteri besar and the termination of three PAS assemblymen had affected governance, but did not automatically mean Perikatan Nasional (PN) had lost control of the assembly.
“Legally, the vacancies involving the three assemblymen are clear under the PAS Constitution and Article 50A of the Perlis Constitution, but it is inaccurate to say PN no longer controls the assembly because PAS and Bersatu have not announced a termination of cooperation.”
He warned that collective withdrawal of support through statutory declarations posed a broader risk to political stability.
“Collective withdrawal of support through legally recognised instruments such as statutory declarations is extremely dangerous to political stability, not only at the Perlis state level but also with the potential to spread to other states and even the national level if it is not curbed immediately.
“The Constitution Amendment Act 2022 involving the Anti-Party Hopping provisions should be improved by including provisions that require confidence or no-confidence to be determined only through sittings of the State Assembly or Parliament,” he said.
International Islamic University Malaysia political science Assoc Prof Dr Syaza Shukri said the immediate issue now was no longer the withdrawal of support but identifying who could command majority confidence among existing assemblymen.
“The Perlis episode shows internal PN disagreements behind the scenes. While Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu appear more stable, this demonstrates that similar challenges can occur elsewhere,” she said.
In his resignation statement on Dec 25, Mohd Shukri said he stepped down voluntarily due to health reasons, adding that he had submitted his resignation letter to the Raja of Perlis and left the matter to royal discretion.
Earlier on Dec 24, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang announced the immediate termination of three Perlis assemblymen – Saad Seman (Chuping), Fakhrul Anwar Ismail (Bintong) and Mohd Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji).
The move was confirmed by Perlis State Legislative Assembly Speaker Rus’sele Eizan, who declared the seats vacant under Article 50A(1)(a)(ii) of the Perlis State Constitution (Amendment 2022). Rus’sele said the vacancies had affected the assembly’s majority, prompting the need for by-elections to restore stability.
