Faizal no longer Negeri Sembilan Bersatu chief

Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu has been replaced as the head of the party’s Negeri Sembilan chapter, according to a source.

(FMT) – The source told FMT that Faizal will be replaced by Labu assemblyman Hanifah Abu Baker, who won the seat for the first time in the state elections last August.

“Yes, (it is) the Labu assemblyman,” said the source, who attended the Bersatu Supreme Council meeting at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Faizal, a former Perak menteri besar, replaced former Kuala Pilah MP Eddin Syazlee Shith as the state Bersatu chief in June last year as the party was gearing up for the polls.

However, Faizal had come under pressure to relinquish the post, particularly from Negeri Sembilan PAS chief Rafiei Mustapha, following Bersatu’s disastrous performance in the state elections.

Rafiei, who is Faizal’s deputy in the state PN leadership, had accused the Bersatu deputy president of displaying no interest in leading the state chapter. He also questioned Faizal’s leadership qualities during the election campaign.

Eddin, a Bersatu Supreme Council member, later called for Faizal to be replaced by either Hanifah or Jelebu Bersatu chief Rais Yatim, who had served as Negeri Sembilan menteri besar between 1978 and 1982.