I was told by Bersatu leadership to ask for GLC post, says Azizi

The ex-Nenggiri assemblyman says he was instructed to apply for the position by Kelantan Bersatu chief Kamaruddin Nor after PAS ‘seized’ the Galas state seat.

(FMT) – Gua Musang MP Azizi Abu Naim says it was the Bersatu leadership which asked him to seek the chairman’s position in a government-linked company in Kelantan after PAS “seized” the Galas seat in the last state election.

Azizi was responding to allegations by Kelantan menteri besar Nassuruddin Daud, who claimed that he received a letter from Azizi for the post.

Azizi, the former Nenggiri assemblyman, said he was instructed to apply for the position by Kelantan Bersatu chief Kamaruddin Nor.

“He asked me to apply because PAS had taken over the Galas seat. Previously, (PAS vice-president) Amar Abdullah told Bersatu to contest in areas which were Umno’s stronghold.

“Before that, PAS said they would suggest another seat (for Bersatu to contest in lieu of Galas), but that didn’t happen. Even the promise of a 30% quota for village heads wasn’t fulfilled.

“That’s why Kelantan Bersatu asked me to apply for the GLC position. Where have I gone wrong?” he told FMT.

On Thursday, Nassuruddin claimed in a ceramah for the Nenggiri by-election that Azizi had written to him to seek the chairman’s position at Syarikat Ladang Sungai Terah Sdn Bhd, currently held by the Kelantan menteri besar.

In the last state election in August, Azizi, who contested under PAS’s logo, won the Nenggiri seat with a 810-vote majority.

PAS was defeated in Galas, one of the state seats under the Gua Musang parliamentary constituency, where Barisan Nasional candidate Syahbuddin Hashim defeated Perikatan Nasional’s Tarmizi Abdul Rahman from PAS with a 3,337-vote majority.

Azizi was made to vacate the Nenggiri seat after the Kelantan state assembly received a notice stating that the assemblyman had ceased to be a Bersatu member for pledging support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.

The Nenggiri by-election on Aug 17 will see a straight fight between PN’s Rizwadi Ismail, a former PAS member who joined Bersatu, and BN’s Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani.

Azizi also claimed that PAS was trying to control all administrative matters in Kelantan, even though Bersatu, its coalition partner in PN, had won several seats in the state.

“PAS clearly wants to control everything and doesn’t want to give Bersatu a chance to serve the people. PAS wants its presence in every administrative aspect,”

he said.

Bersatu holds five seats in Kelantan’s state assembly compared to PAS’s 37, not including the vacant Nenggiri seat. Bersatu’s seats are Kok Lanas, Gual Ipoh, Bukit Bunga, Ayer Lanas and Paloh.