Abdullah in the hot seat over Terengganu's Mercedes fleet

KUALA LUMPUR - A CONTROVERSY over the purchase of Mercedes-Benz cars for Terengganu officials is creating fresh headaches for Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

Terengganu's top officials have defied his instruction for them to use the cars only to ferry state visitors: Four executive councillors have been seen driving around in them.

Even worse, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said has asked the government not to waste time on the Mercedes issue, but to probe two mega projects that are alleged to be wasteful.

The problem is the latest crisis faced by Datuk Seri Abdullah to show that he is in firm charge of the country.

It comes at a bad time as Umno's 19,000 branches are in the midst of annual meetings and a weak image could further erode his support among the 3.2 million party members.

The issue started with Datuk Ahmad buying 14 new Mercedes cars for RM3.43 million (S$1.4 million) for use by his executive councillors, the equivalent of state ministers.

Mr Abdullah last week warned Terengganu officials to use the cars only for visiting dignitaries. But they insisted on having them for their personal use, saying their Proton cars had been seized.

Referring to Mr Abdullah's decision-making on the issue, Ms Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies think-tank, said: 'This pattern is symptomatic of a deeper issue at hand - unclear, inconsistent and changing decisions at top levels of leadership.'

The Anti-Corruption Agency has been looking into claims by Mr Ahmad that the Proton Perdana cars were too expensive to maintain. It has arrested three repair-shop owners and seized eight of the state's Proton cars.

Mr Ahmad hit back by saying the authorities had not investigated multi-million-dollar projects in Terengganu like the Monsoon Cup sailing event and a RM250 million (S$104.7 million) Islamic theme park, which has been decried by locals as being wasteful.

The Mercedes issue has weakened Mr Abdullah's standing, a reversal from his more positive image a week earlier after announcing Malay unity talks between Umno and the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

Referring to the Terengganu officials, Mr Lim Kit Siang, adviser to the opposition Democratic Action Party, asked in his blog: 'Is he (Abdullah) going to crack the whip to impose discipline, or is he going to close his eyes and ears and pretend such defiance does not exist?'

Some observers felt the Terengganu Menteri Besar was deliberately testing his boundaries with Mr Abdullah. He was not the Prime Minister's choice for the top post in Terengganu, and was appointed by the state's ruler, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin.

-TMB