Malaysia’s smallest state, Perlis, has been plunged into political uncertainty with the resignation of Chief Minister Mohd Shukri Ramli and the sacking of three assemblymen from his party, sending ripples across the country’s political alliances.
Shukri, from the Islamist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), cited health reasons for stepping down, but said he was blindsided by the withdrawal of support from state assemblymen from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition made up of PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
In a press conference broadcast “live” on his Facebook page on Thursday, Shukri reportedly said he was unaware of statutory declarations filed by eight assemblymen withdrawing support for him until the day they were submitted.
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“I only learned about it on the day of the incident. It shows how cunningly they planned this,” he said, as reported by news outlet Free Malaysia Today.
Shukri said he was disappointed with the three sacked assemblymen – Saad Seman, Fakhrul Anwar Ismail, and Ridzuan Hashim – for pulling their support.
“I made a mistake by being too nice and appreciative of the friendship that I had [with them]. I did not expect that this friendship would result in me being treated this way,” he said.