Terengganu crisis: Umno hit by defections, loses majority

(Bernama) – Another Umno assemblyman, Roslee Daud of Bukit Besi state constituency, today announced that he had quit the party to become an independent assemblyman.

Roslee, who is also State Rural Development, Entrepreneurship, Cooperative and Consumerism Committee chairman, in a copy of a letter dated May 13 faxed to Bernama today, said: “Please be informed that I hereby resigned from my position in the party effective immediately.”

Earlier today, Kijal assemblyman and former Terenganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said, together with Ajil assemblyman Ghazali Taib, also declared that they had quit Umno and became independent assemblymen for their respective state constituencies.

Ahmad also resigned as menteri besar yesterday and was immediately replaced by State Science, Technology and Innovation, Energy, Green Technology and Water Committee chairman Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman, who took his oath of office before Sultan of Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin at Istana Syarqiyyah here at 9.18 pm.

Roslee’s letter was addressed to Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and was courtesy copied to the State Assembly Speaker.

With Roslee’s decision to join Ahmad and Ghazali as independent assemblymen, Barisan Nasional now left with only 14 assemblymen in the State Assembly, one short from the opposition pact as PAS also has 14 seats and PKR, one.

Legal advisor: BN still in power

Meanwhile state legal advisor Azhar Abdul Hamid said BN continues to hold power in Terengganu despite three of its assemblymen from Umno having declared themselves as independents,

He said that while the number of BN assemblymen had dropped from 17 to 14 and the opposition had 15 members in the state legislative assembly, the speaker was counted as a representative of the ruling state government, giving an equation of 15:15:3.

Azhar, when contacted by Bernama, said the speaker was counted along with the 14 BN assemblymen and so the BN remained in power in the state.