Perlis MB Mohd Shukri Ramli’s resignation – a leader in title, but not in command

KANGAR: Mohd Shukri Ramli’s resignation as Perlis Menteri Besar did not come as a bolt from out of the blue. It was, instead, the inevitable conclusion to three years of quiet turbulence – an administration defined less by public confrontation than by simmering internal strife.

As the first non-Barisan Nasional leader to govern Perlis since independence, Shukri’s ascent in November 2022 was historic. Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) sweeping victory ended BN’s 65-year dominance and was widely interpreted as a political reset for Malaysia’s smallest state.

A retired teacher with a modest demeanour, Shukri appeared to embody the antithesis of the factional infighting that plagued the previous administration.

In his early months, he did many things right. His non-confrontational posture towards Putrajaya was not weakness but pragmatism. Perlis depends heavily on federal funding, and Shukri understood that ideological bravado would do little for a state with limited resources.

With only one opposition assemblyman and Umno still struggling to recover, his first year in office was relatively smooth.

Yet politics is rarely undone by external enemies alone. Shukri’s downfall was forged largely within his own coalition.

The cracks became visible in late 2023, when Perlis Bersatu chief Abu Bakar Hamzah openly challenged Shukri after being excluded from the state executive council.

What might have been dismissed as routine political disagreement instead exposed deeper fault lines within the Perikatan Nasional administration. It was a warning sign that authority, not policy, was becoming contested terrain.

The real turning point, however, came in 2024 with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation involving Shukri’s son. While Shukri himself was never charged, the optics were damaging.

In politics, perception often matters as much as proof. Rumours of influence-peddling – regardless of their legal outcome – began to erode confidence among coalition partners and party insiders.

Shukri attempted to brush off calls for his resignation, insisting they were confined to social media and not reflective of party sentiment. That assessment, in hindsight, proved overly optimistic.

Behind the scenes, Pas in Perlis was already fracturing. The divide between what insiders dubbed the “Kompleks Pas” and “Kompleks Dun” camps – party leadership versus Shukri-aligned assemblymen – signalled a growing leadership vacuum.

The June Pas divisional elections were telling. Despite being Menteri Besar and state Pas commissioner, Shukri failed to secure the Arau division chief post. Soon after, his influence diminished further.

He was replaced as Pas Perlis commissioner, while Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim – ironically a figure from Perlis’ BN past – was appointed PN state chairman. By then, Shukri was a leader in title but not in command.

The final blow came last week when eight PN assemblymen – five from Bersatu and three from Pas – submitted statutory declarations withdrawing support for him.

Shukri called it an “unprecedented betrayal”. Politically, it was simply the culmination of a long erosion of trust. What followed only deepened the uncertainty.

Pas swiftly terminated the memberships of the three dissenting assemblymen, and the Perlis State Assembly Speaker moved to seek by-elections, arguing that the government’s majority had been affected.

Yet here lies the irony. Legally, the case for by-elections is far from clear-cut.

As legal analyst Dr Mohamed Hadi Abd Hamid has pointed out in a Facebook posting, the Perlis State Assembly has already crossed the three-year threshold. With less than two years remaining in its term, constitutional provisions suggest that by-elections are not mandatory.

More importantly, the political logic is questionable. Even without the three Pas assemblymen, Perikatan Nasional retains the numbers to govern.

On a strict reading, the expelled assemblymen may no longer represent Pas, but they remain PN representatives – answerable, ultimately, to the coalition leadership.

Shukri’s resignation, officially attributed to health reasons, closes a chapter that began with promise but ended in quiet disintegration.

His leadership style – measured, non-combative and principled – won public goodwill but proved insufficient in navigating the ruthless arithmetic of coalition politics.

Perlis today stands at a crossroads, not because of an electoral mandate, but because of political impatience.

The more pressing question is not whether by-elections should be held, but whether stability can be restored without further unsettling a state that has already endured years of political churn.

Perhaps the most sensible path forward is also the simplest: appoint a new Menteri Besar who is likely – not guaranteed – to command the confidence of the assembly, and allow the government to function until the next general election.

In a state weary of power plays, continuity may yet prove more valuable than conquest.