No need for Ismail to resign despite missteps, say analysts

 Azmi Hassan and Mazlan Ali say that while the Negeri Sembilan menteri besar has made mistakes, replacing Ismail Lasim now could prove difficult for Umno.

Azmi Hassan said despite not being as well known nationally, Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Ismail Lasim remains a strong figure among the grassroots in Negeri Sembilan, particularly in Kuala Pilah. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Ismail Lasim should stay on as menteri besar of Negeri Sembilan despite several political missteps barely two months into his tenure, analysts say.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Ismail still has strong support among the grassroots while Universiti Teknologi Malaysia political analyst Mazlan Ali believes it will be difficult for Umno to replace him.

Azmi said Ismail’s mistakes in handling the dispute over the position of the Yang Dipertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir had not cost him political support.

“Ismail’s decisions were very difficult (to make) because they touched on the monarchy and the palace,” he told FMT.

Azmi Hassan.

In any case, he said, Ismail remains a strong figure among the grassroots in Negeri Sembilan, particularly in Kuala Pilah, despite not being well-known at the national level.

Ismail is a seven-term assemblyman, having served first in Senaling and now in Juasseh. This, according to Azmi, shows he has a strong local base.

The G25 group of prominent retired civil servants had urged Ismail to resign as menteri besar over his handling of the palace crisis.

The group said his position as menteri besar was untenable because he had signed a proclamation seeking Tuanku Muhriz’s removal, only to follow that up with conflicting explanations about the document.

Azmi said the perception that Ismail was not Umno’s preferred choice for menteri besar was largely because state Umno chief Jalaluddin Alias had been widely tipped for the post.

Jalaluddin had led the move by 14 Umno assemblymen to withdraw their support for then menteri besar Aminuddin Harun before the Aug 1 state election, leading many to expect that he would take over the post.

Azmi said Ismail now appeared to have enough backing among Umno’s grassroots and from the party leadership to remain in office and keep the state administration under the party.

Mazlan Ali.

Mazlan said that while Ismail had made potentially serious mistakes in his conflicting statements about the proclamation, replacing him as menteri besar would be difficult.

He said the view was that Jalaluddin was not Tuanku Muhriz’s choice for the menteri besar job despite initially being seen as the main contender.

Furthermore, he added, Umno would have difficulty finding a new menteri besar and executive councillors acceptable to the state ruler. - FMT