Datuk Ahmad Said is already the Terengganu Minister Besar. It seems that Ahmad and the royal family who supports him won the first round.

The question is, how long can he stay at the position?

Currently, Ahmad is having his one-man government. He doesn't have the state cabinet (the Executive Council) and can't control the state council. He is the first solo act Menteri Besar in Malaysian history.

The former state minister led the state BN and won in the recent elections. From the legal point of view, he is supported by the BN. From the political point of view, he has the support from the central party. Logically, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh can become the Menteri Besar and form the state government.

However, he is not acceptable to the royal family. The reasons behind it are complicated. To say it generally, the royal family doesn't agree with what Idris has done in the past four years. The poor relationship between the two sides is no longer a secret. Their relationship has further deadlocked during the recent general elections.

Nevertheless, he is the choice of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He worked hard in 2004 and won Terengganu back from PAS.

Kelantan and Kedah fell into the hand of the opposition in the 2008 general elections. However, Terengganu is still under BN's power, and we definitely won’t forget Idris' effort. The Prime Minister also doesn't have any reason to replace Idris.

After BN and the royal family stalemated for two weeks, the royal family refused to give in and appointed Ahmad Said.

This time, the BN is no longer in a compromising mood as what they did for the case of Perlis Menteri Besar. They fully support Idris.

As for the Constitution, the rulers have the power to appoint Menteri Besar. However, it is not an absolute power. The condition is the person appointed by the rulers must have the support from the majority of the state assemblypersons.

BN won 24 out of 32 seats in Terengganu. PAS won eight seats. At present, Idris has the support from the 23 BN assemblypersons (including himself). Meanwhile, PAS has expressed their support for Ahmad.

Ahmad's power is very weak. As long as the state council doesn't vote for him, then his one-man government will collapse.

However, he still has an advantage in the law. The state council must hold its meeting within 90 days. Ahmad can start to lobbying other assemblypersons during this period. Theoretically, he can form the majority of the state government if he successfully gains the support from PAS and eight BN state assemblypersons.

Of course, it will be a difficult project.

The Prime Minister is now seeking for an audience with Terengganu sultan, who is also the present Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku, Mizan Zainal Abidin for a solution. A political crisis can be resolved if the problem could be handled through negotiations. Otherwise, it will become a constitutional crisis. (By TAY TIAN YAN/ Translated by LEE MEI NYEE/ Sin Chew Daily)