SHAH ALAM, 13 May: Defections from Barisan Nasional (BN) in Terengganu is mounting when one-by-one, state Assemblymen from the party began following in the footsteps of its former Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, who quit the party to become an independent Assemblyman.
The former New Straits Times (NST) Chief Editor, Datuk A Kadir Jasin, said that this unexpected move from several Umno leaders could be yet another ‘bala’ (disaster) for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after winning the 13th General Election (GE13).
He is also of the opinion that this is certainly a huge blow to Najib’s leadership, dubbed as the most ‘luckless’ Prime Minister of Malaysia.
“Technically, the BN is now down by two seats in the state assembly and that puts it on par with the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
“Could the impossible happen – PAS joining Umno in forming a coalition government in the state?
“Or will Terengganu be mired in yet another political crisis reminiscence of the 1960’s and 70’s?” he wrote on his blog.
In less than 24 hours, the Assemblyman for Seberang Takir, Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman, was sworn in as the new Chief Minister, two other Umno Assemblymen, Roslee Daud (Bukit Besi) and Ghazali Taib (Ajil) sent in letters to leave the party and declared themselves as independent Assemblymen.
This caused the Chief Minister of Terengganu to lose the majority in the Assembly when they only have 14 seats compared to PR, which has 15 seats (PAS 14, PKR 1) and 3 independents in the 32-member Assembly.
A.Kadir said that if these leaders persist with their decision of leaving Umno and declaring themselves independent assemblymen, the PR could demand to form the state government.
However, he said, politicians can change their decisions at will if the government offers the right “price” to not leave the party.
“The situation would be worse for the BN if indeed more Umno assemblymen follow Ahmad’s and Ghazali’s footsteps. Still this is a developing situation. Politicians can change their decisions at will if the “price” is right,” he said.
