Perlis MB resigns, cites health problem

Perlis Menteri Besar Shukri Ramli has resigned from his post after submitting his resignation letter to the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, today.

However, Shukri said he is still waiting for a response from the state ruler regarding the status of his position.

“First of all, I would like to inform you that I was granted an audience with His Royal Highness this afternoon and expressed my intention to resign as menteri besar due to my health.

“I have submitted my resignation letter, so in this regard, I would like to express my gratitude to Perlis’ government administration, those who have given my people and me a lot of cooperation," he said at a press conference today.

Shukri’s resignation followed the state assembly speaker’s announcement that three state seats - Chuping, Bintong and Guar Sanji - were vacated following the membership termination of their assemblypersons.

The three are Saad Seman (Chuping), Fakhrul Anwar Ismail (Bintong), and Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji).

The political turmoil in the state is believed to have stemmed from moves to oust Shukri as the menteri besar.

Betrayal

Responding to this, Shukri, who is also the Sanglang assemblyperson, said the three former PAS party members’ action amounted to a betrayal, and that their move was described as a coordinated one.

“In PAS, as we know, the three assemblypersons have had their duties terminated, whether as party members or as elected representatives.

“That is PAS’ principle - we are firm. If an elected representative behaves like this, it is called betrayal, because in PAS, we have baiah (pledge), which is something very serious.

“When we take the baiah, we agree that we cannot accept any unlawful inducements for personal gain - that was mutually agreed when we first became candidates. I did not know (about the move to remove me as MB) because if I had known, I would have stopped it early.

“If you look at it, there was no information leaked (at all, which shows that) it was clearly planned. The information could not be traced at all, and suddenly it just happened. I myself only received information on the day it happened - that shows how cleverly it was planned,” he said.

MB replacement

Asked about his replacement, Shukri emphasised that his successor should come from PAS.

“However, my resignation is due to health reasons and is voluntary. As for the rest, I leave it to the wisdom of His Highness.

“The (new) menteri besar should come from PAS, because it holds the majority,” he said.

The former teacher added that he was not disappointed by what had happened, saying it was due to his own nature of being too kind and valuing friendships.

“I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed - my mistake was that I was too kind and valued this friendship too much, and we never expected that this friendship would turn out like this,” Shukri added.

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