UMNO's non-apology apology

UMNO reps apologize for rejecting Azlan Man but they still continue to reject him.

The constitutional crisis in Perlis is nowhere near to being resolved. The nine BN state reps that had boycotted the appointment of Azlan Man as the MB have apologized to the Perlis ruler but they are still against Azlan as MB.

So essentially, they are saying: We're sorry for defying you earlier but we are still defying you now.

This is what we call a classic non-apology apology. But it's not going to resolve anything. There is still a stalemate in Perlis.

As mentioned before, there are three potential outcomes:
i) BN concedes
ii) The ruler concedes
iii) Snap polls

Of the three, option (i) is the most likely outcome even though the constitution is on BN's side. Technically BN, which won the state (with a 2/3rds majority, no less), has the right to determine who the MB is. But, UMNO being the so-called defender of the royalty, cannot be seen as defying the royalty.

Although Shahidan is a warlord in Perlis, UMNO leaders at the federal level will soon force the nine state reps to accept the ruler's choice. Of course those nine could refuse to listen to the national leadership on this matter, in which case, we could see option (iii) happening, which is snap polls. That's even worse for BN because if there was to be a re-election, they could very well lose the state.

What is the least likely to happen is (ii) the ruler conceding. Knowing full well that UMNO would not dare take this matter to court, the ruler can stand firm and wait this out. Eventually, UMNO Perlis will back down or face the prospect of a new election.