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Politics entered uncharted territory in Malyasia yesterday after the king went against convention and rejected the prime minister's  nominee for chief minister of Terengganu state.
The eastern state was won by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's National Front coalition - but the state government was not formed after the polls on March 8 because Sultan  Mizan Zainal Abidin opposed the reappointment of Idris Jusoh as chief minister.
Local media has reported that  the royal is angry with Mr Idris for  insulting him by ignoring palace advice and spurning royal functions.
The standoff reached a climax yesterday when the king gave another government lawmaker, Ahmad Said, an appointment letter as the new chief minister at an early morning palace ceremony.
The response was swift. Mr Abdullah yesterday sacked Mr Ahmad as a member of Umno - the dominant party in the National Front - reported  The Star daily's  website.
The party rejected the appointment and said it would boycott Mr Ahmad's swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.
'It is a royal-sized constitutional crisis,' constitutional expert Shad Faruqi said. 'There is no precedent on how to resolve this one.'
The 23 remaining United Malays National Organisation lawmakers in Terengganu state have  signed a letter  saying they will boycott the ceremony,  signalling that they will withdraw support if the king proceeds with making Mr Ahmad the chief minister. They also threatened to resign en masse  if Mr Ahmad is sworn in.
'This is royal impudence ... Abdullah cannot allow this or he will suffer irreparable damage to his standing,' said an academic at the National University of Malaysia, who did not want to be identified.
'The king may be unhappy with Idris, but he can't reject him.  They are constitutional monarchs and they should reign, not rule ... this is not even ruling, this is blatant interference.'
Malaysians in general welcome a political role for the royals, who are increasingly speaking up for democracy, transparency and rule  of law. But  they have never  been directly involved in the political process.
'They are evolving as a force for good and we should welcome it,' political analyst  Raja Petra Kamarudin said. 'We should give them the space; they are an integral part of the system, but have been sidelined all these years.'
Under Malaysia's rotating monarchy, Sultan Mizan, 46, who was ruler of Terengganu state, became king in December 2006. He left his 11-year-old son Muhammad Ismail to rule  with the help of an  advisory council.
Mr Abdullah, already weak from a disastrous showing at the recent state and national elections, had to win this tussle with the palace to show the country that he was still in charge, political analysts said.
Last week, the ruler of northern Perlis state rejected Mr Abdullah's nominee for chief minister and appointed  his own nominee.
Mr Abdullah initially protested, but later agreed to the decision.
Constitutional experts said the king must always act on the advice of the government - but the constitution gives discretionary powers to the king to dissolve parliament, and  to consent to or reject  appointments.
The king is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has discretionary powers to declare emergencies. These powers were never exercised under long-time prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.



Constitutional crisis as king defies Abdullah