Datuk Seri Ahmad Said is the
Menteri BesarThe Menteri Besar is the chief executive of the state government for states in Malaysia with hereditary rulers. For states without a monarch, the title Chief Minister is used...
of the state of
TerengganuTerengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
,
Malaysia since 2008. He is a member of the
United Malays National OrganisationThe United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO) which is part of the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional. He is currently the
state assemblymanA state legislative assembly is the legislature of each of the 13 Malaysian states. Members of a state legislative assembly comprises elected representatives from single-member constituencies during state elections through the first-past-the-post system....
of Kijal, Terengganu.
Profile
Ahmad Said is a
political sciencePolitical Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
graduate from
Universiti Sains MalaysiaUniversiti Sains Malaysia is a public university with its main campus in Penang, Malaysia. There are three branch campuses: one in mainland Penang , one in Kelantan on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, and a offshore collaboration with a university in India...
, and was elected an assemblyman in 1990. He is currently married, with eight children.
Within the party, he previously held the titles of Terengganu UMNO and Kemaman UMNO Youth Chief, and was also the Exco member of National UMNO Youth wing. His current position is that of Committee member of the Terengganu UMNO Youth Chief and holds the position of Kemaman UMNO division chief.
Menteri Besar of Terengganu
Following the
2008 Malaysian general electionThe 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004...
,
Barisan NasionalBarisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
managed to win a majority in the
TerengganuTerengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
state election garnering 24 out of 32 state seats on offer, with
PASThe Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party commonly known as PAS or Pas, is an Islamist political party in Malaysia and is currently headed by Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang...
winning the remaining 8 seats.
In the formation of the new Terengganu state government, the federal government under the then
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
(PM)
Abdullah Ahmad BadawiTun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
put forth the reappointment of Datuk Seri
Idris JusohHaji Idris bin Jusoh was the former Menteri Besar of the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation which is part of the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional.- Crisis in Terengganu :...
to a second term as
Menteri BesarThe Menteri Besar is the chief executive of the state government for states in Malaysia with hereditary rulers. For states without a monarch, the title Chief Minister is used...
. Abdullah claimed Idris received full support of twenty-three of the 24 Barisan Nasional state assemblymen elected.
In what political analysts described as a possible
constitutional crisisA constitutional crisis is a situation that the legal system's constitution or other basic principles of operation appear unable to resolve; it often results in a breakdown in the orderly operation of government...
, trouble began to precipitate after the
Sultan of TerengganuSultan of Terengganu is the title of the constitutional head of Terengganu state in Malaysia. The current sultan, Mizan Zainal Abidin, is the seventeenth Sultan of Terengganu...
, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is also the current
Yang di-Pertuan AgongThe Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
(King) of
Malaysia refused to re-appoint and swear in Idris as Menteri Besar. Similar problems occurred in the state of
PerlisPerlis is the smallest state in Malaysia. It lies at the northern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and has Satun and Songkhla Provinces of Thailand on its northern border. It is bordered by the state of Kedah to the south...
where the PM's choice was also rejected and eventually the PM had to give in to the Raja of Perlis.
On 22 March 2008, the office of the
Sultan of TerengganuSultan of Terengganu is the title of the constitutional head of Terengganu state in Malaysia. The current sultan, Mizan Zainal Abidin, is the seventeenth Sultan of Terengganu...
announced the appointment of Kijal assemblyman Ahmad Said instead of
Idris JusohHaji Idris bin Jusoh was the former Menteri Besar of the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation which is part of the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional.- Crisis in Terengganu :...
.
The Prime Minister responded by saying that the appointment of Ahmad Said was "unconstitutional" as it went against the wishes of the assemblymen and the Prime Minister's office who have supported
Idris JusohHaji Idris bin Jusoh was the former Menteri Besar of the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation which is part of the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional.- Crisis in Terengganu :...
's candidacy for
Menteri Besar. The 22 other BN assemblymen had also pledged their support toward the appointment of Idris Jusoh according to the then Deputy Prime Minister
Najib Tun RazakDato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
.
In spite of threats to strip Ahmad Said of his UMNO membership "for disobeying the leadership", he went to the office in
Wisma Darul ImanWisma Darul Iman is Terengganu's state secretariat building. It is located in Kuala Terengganu....
to begin the first day of his new appointment on 25 March 2008.
Ahmad SaidDatuk Seri Ahmad Said is the Menteri Besar of the state of Terengganu, Malaysia since 2008. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation which is part of the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional...
was subsequently stripped of his UMNO membership. This technically disqualified him from representing the state UMNO and therefore commanding the majority in the legislative assembly to be appointed as Menteri Besar in the first place.
The ruling party also planned to vote down the Sultan's choice through a motion of no-confidence by 22 UMNO state assemblymen. The opposition party Parti Islam SeMalaysia in the meantime promised that its assemblymen would support Ahmad Said as Menteri Besar.
On 26 March 2008, Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad BadawiTun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin met at
Istana NegaraIstana Negara is the official residence of His Majesty, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. It stands on a 13 acre site, located at a commanding position on the slope of a hill of Bukit Petaling overlooking the Klang River, along Jalan Syed Putra.Another royal residence of the Yang di-Pertuan...
to resolve the impasse. The Prime Minister reversed his stance and decided to accept the King's appointment of Ahmad Said as Menteri Besar of Terengganu. He also apologized to the King for the public spat over the appointment of the Menteri Besar, explaining that there was no intention to disparage or humiliate the royal household. The apparent backdown was due to threat that the royal household would be prepared to dissolve the state assembly if the motion of no-confidence was initiated against Ahmad Said, which would trigger another election in what is already a climate of discontent towards the ruling party and the possibility of dissenting assemblymen defecting to the opposition.
The UMNO Supreme Council proceeded to endorse Ahmad Said as the new Menteri Besar of Terengganu. With the resolution of the impasse, Ahmad Said expressed his gratefulness over his appointment and paid tribute to Idris, an old friend he has known since university, for the work he has done for the Terengganu people so far and to seek his advice. After the swearing in ceremony, he also expressed hope in moving on to discharge his responsibility to the people and eradicate poverty within the state.