Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia regrets inaccurate report on Mukhriz Mahathir's resignation

The Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia has expressed regret over local media reports on the resignation of Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, which were found to be inaccurate and confusing.

Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim said the local newspapers were found to have reported the event as if the Menteri Besar was sacked by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

As such, he said the embassy would like to clarify that Mukhriz was not sacked, but instead had to step down as he had lost majority support in the Kedah Legislative Assembly.

"Most newspapers in Indonesia reported the event as "Putera Mahathir di depak", a statement which means that the son of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been sacked, while we know very well that in Malaysia's administration system, a Menteri Besar or Chief Minister will have to step down if he lost the majority support in the state legislative assembly," he told Bernama here Sunday.

Zahrain said the inaccurate news reports was probably due to local reporters' lack of understanding of state and federal administration systems in Malaysia and that they should do their homework before writing about political

issues in other countries.

Zahrain said a Menteri Besar's resignation was not new in Malaysia because, before Mukhriz, several Kedah Menteri Besar had also resigned or stepped down after losing majority support in the State Legislative Assembly.

He said the appointment process for a Menteri Besar in Malaysia also differed greatly from the appointments of President, Governor or Mayor in Indonesia as the candidate for the Menteri Besar's post was selected from among the elected representatives and appointed to the post with the support from Prime Minister and consent from the state's ruler.

"For the post of President or Governor in Indonesia, no one can ask the incumbent to resign as he was elected directly by the people through election process, but in Malaysia, a Menteri Besar was not elected by the people as there was no election for the post," he added.