Terengganu to consider snap elections

Ahmad-Said PETALING JAYA: Terengganu may consider having a snap election amid tensions between Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman and his predecessor Ahmad Said.

Local daily The Star reported today that Ahmad Said had now joined forces with Ajil assemblyman Ghazali Taib, in an apparent rebellion against the ruling party Umno.

Last Saturday, Ahmad Said gave an angry speech at an Umno function in Kemaman, mainly targeted at Ahmad Razif and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak.

His speech is believed to be a response to Ahmad Razif’s call for Ahmad Said to be sacked from Umno, in which the latter had dared the party to do so, saying “they will see what I can do”.

Ahmad Razif had confirmed yesterday that Terengganu Umno had sent a report on Ahmad Said’s alleged wrongdoing to the supreme council as well as to the Umno disciplinary board.

“The party has taken action against the Umno deputy president and vice-president. I leave it to the party leadership to take disciplinary action based on our report. There should be no double standard,” Ahmad Razif said.

According to the daily, an Umno official also confirmed that Ahmad Razif had also asked the supreme council to consider a snap election to resolve the apparent crisis in the state.

“The MB is resigned to the situation. If there is to be an election, he is ready and confident that Barisan will do better,” the Umno official reportedly said.

This comes just days after the Penang ruling government had called off the possibility of snap polls after several weeks of discussions.

Ghazali came into the picture when he called for a press conference yesterday to defend Ahmad Said, saying that there was no need to sack any assemblyman in Terengganu.

Apart from defending Ahmad Said, the state communications and multimedia and special tasks committee chairman also criticised the state government and reminded that Barisan Nasional only had a two-seat majority in the state assembly.

Umno lost its confidence in Ahmad Said when he almost lost in the 2013 General Election. When he was replaced as menteri besar in 2014, he resigned from Umno alongside Ghazali and Bukit Besi assemblyman Roslee Daud.

The trio later retracted their resignations.