PETALING JAYA: Outgoing Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu’s loss of support in the state assembly today makes him the first leader to be ousted through a vote of confidence.
But it is not the first time a leader of a state has lost the confidence of assemblymen, with the precedent set in Kelantan in 1977, when then menteri besar Mohamed Nasir was ousted in a motion of no confidence.
Back then, Barisan Nasional and PAS were allies though their relationship was strained. Mohamed was with PAS but had been accused of defying party instructions.
PAS’ motion succeeded but Mohamed refused to resign. Subsequently, riots broke out and a state of emergency was declared.
For many in Perak, however, the impending change in the menteri besar may not be unexpected given tensions between Faizal’s PPBM and Umno, the single-largest party in the state in terms of assemblymen.
But it is the latest twist in a state which has seen its fair share of political drama since 2009, which started with political defections and leading to the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat-led government.
The then state assembly speaker, V Sivakumar, had called for an emergency sitting but they were denied entry into the building.
They then convened the sitting under a tree some 100m from the state secretariat, though the Ipoh High Court later declared it illegal.
Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the then menteri besar, had also sought a dissolution of the state assembly to pave the way for fresh elections.
His request was turned down by Sultan Azlan Shah who appointed a new menteri besar – Umno’s Zambry Abdul Kadir – from the existing crop of assemblymen.
Some 5,000 people reportedly protested outside the Perak palace as Zambry was being sworn in.
Legal battles ensued with the opposition taking both the sultan and the new state government to court which ultimately ended with the Federal Court ruling against the opposition.
In the 13th general election, Zambry led BN to victory and retained the state for the next five years.
There was more drama in the aftermath of GE14 with a three-day impasse over the formation of a new Perak government taking place.
Pakatan Harapan, then comprising PKR, PPBM, DAP and Amanah, had won 29 seats, BN 27 and PAS, then aligned to neither, three.
The impasse was resolved when two BN assemblymen gave their support to PH and Faizal, the sole PPBM assemblyman, was appointed menteri besar.
Less than two years later, the state administration would fall in the wake of a political realignment at the federal level, with Umno, PPBM and PAS coming together to wrest Putrajaya from PH.
The new Perikatan Nasional-led administration took over in March and Faizal was reappointed as menteri besar with the backing of PAS and BN assemblymen.
But ties between Umno and PPBM have been strained and today, Umno assemblymen voted against Faizal, resulting in him being ousted from the menteri besar’s post.