Full Story Of The Terengganu Crisis That Almost Made UMNO Lose Its Majority

In a dramatic twist of events, former Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said announced that he had quit Umno and become an independent.

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Ahmad, 57, threw in his resignation letter dated May 12, 2014 to the Umno secretary-general, scant hours after he was forced to step down as Terengganu mentri besar mid-term, and replaced with Ahmad Razif.

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Ahmad’s letter read: “I hereby resign my position from the party effective immediately. I also declare that I am leaving Umno and I will be an independent state assemblyman for the Kijal state seat.”

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Hours after his resignation as mentri besar, Ahmad Said who is also Kijal’s assemblyman informed Astro Awani in an email that both he and Ghazali are leaving Umno to become independents.

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Bukit Besi assemblyman Roslee Daud quit Umno Tuesday morning, joining ex-Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said and Ajil assemblyman Ghazali Taib to become independent reps. This is confirmed by an aide of Ahmad, who added that there would be "more to come".

Bernama is reporting that, Bukit Besi assemblyman Roslee Daud, who is also State Rural Development, Entrepreneurship, Cooperative and Consumerism Committee chairman, faxed the news agency a letter dated May 13 on Tuesday morning which read: "Please be informed that I hereby resign from my position in the party effective immediately." Roslee's letter was addressed to Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and was courtesy copied to the State Assembly Speaker.

Four more Umno Terengganu assemblymen‎ are expected to quit the party, following in the footsteps of former menteri besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, as rumours swirled that Barisan Nasional was seeking an audience with the Sultan of Terengganu to dissolve the assembly.

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PAS Terengganu election director Ariffin Deraman said it heard that four more Umno representatives would follow Ahmad. “He has seven representatives who are loyal to him," Ariffin, who is the Alor Limbat assemblyman, told The Malaysian Insider.

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Ahmad, who was reappointed Terengganu mentri besar for a second term on May 9 last year, was forced to step down from office mid-term, reportedly due to the BN’s weakest polls performance in a decade. The BN barely kept the state government with 17 state seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 15 seats in Election 2013. Under Ahmad’s leadership, the BN also won only half of the eight federal seats in Terengganu.

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The Terengganu crisis was triggered after Najib authorised Ahmad's resignation letter, which stipulated that he must step down a year after being reappointed the Terengganu MB, following the 13th general election last year. The letter was to pacify Umno members who were not happy with Ahmad Said's leadership since he took over from Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh as Terengganu MB in 2008.

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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was said to have made the decision to appoint Razif despite pleas from Ahmad Said to remain as MB for another week to allow for his child’s wedding on May 17 to be held at the MB's official residence in Kuala Terengganu.

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Seberang Takir state assemblyperson Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman has been appointed the new menteri besar of Terengganu, succeeding Ahmad Said who resigned today.

Ahmad Razif, 49, is also the state executive councillor for science and technology, environment, energy, green technology and water.

"It is hereby announced that Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin has consented to the resignation of Ahmad Said as the menteri besar of Terengganu effective May 12, 2014. "His royal highness has consented to the appointment of Ahmad Razif as the new menteri besar effective from the date of his swearing in before his royal highness," Najib was quoted as saying.

The resignations left the new Terengganu menteri besar and BN without a majority in the legislative assembly.

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Prior to Ahmad Said and Ghazali’s resignation from the party, Umno held 17 state assembly seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 15 state seats. This move by both men could well turn the political situation in Terengganu upside down as Barisan Nasional only holds 15 seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 15 seats – similar to when the three Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen in Perak quit to become BN friendly independents in 2009.

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The Malay Mail Online understands that both state lawmakers are now meeting Terengganu PAS and might cross over, giving the opposition pact the two seats it needs to form the majority in the state legislative assembly.

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PAS will consider requesting the Terengganu State Assembly Speaker to call for an emergency state assembly meeting, as Barisan Nasional no longer holds a majority in the legislative assembly, according to a state PAS leader.

Terengganu PAS deputy commissioner Yahaya Ali said the easy way out for the party was to cooperate with the former Umno state assemblymen, in a move similar to what BN did in Perak during the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis. “The best option is to evaluate this through a vote of no confidence in the Terengganu assembly. If BN does not obtain enough support, then the state government can change hands. Or we could hold another election,” Yahaya told The Malaysian Insider.

There will be no reshuffle within the Terengganu state executive council for the time being, newly-appointed mentri besar Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said today, as Barisan Nasional (BN) continues to ward off a potential disaster in the state leadership.

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Earlier, Ahmad Razif had also dismissed talks that the state assembly would be dissolved, saying that he has not formally received or accepted the resignation letters supposedly submitted by several Umno state lawmakers.

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Ahmad Razif said as far as he was concerned, this means that Datuk Ahmad Said, Ghazali Taib and Roslee Daud — the three lawmakers who said they quit their parties on Monday and yesterday — are still with Umno.

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"PAS's call to dissolve the state legislative is nothing new. That is their business," he said. "BN will continue to rule the state. I am confident and believe that the perceptions will not affect business as usual,” said the Seberang Takir assemblyman, who was sworn in as Menteri Besar on Monday night.

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At the event, new Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said the political turmoil was not "as bad as had been reported previously". "Many parties attempted to take advantage by painting a negative perception of the incident. "Whatever you heard was not the actual scenario which transpired. The BN state assemblymen in Terengganu are all united and have no issues," he said.

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One of the three Umno Terengganu assemblymen who quit the party to become an independent assemblyman has returned to Umno, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.

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The Umno Supreme Council member said tonight that Bukit Besi assemblyman Roslee Daud has retracted his decision to leave the party and sit in the Terengganu legislative assembly as an Independent representative.

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Roslee Daud, the Bukit Besi assemblyman, has agreed to rejoin the party Tuesday night, as confirmed by Permaisuri assemblyman and state exco member Datuk Mohd Jidin Shafee.

A two-day rebellion appears to have been brought to an end with ringleader former Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said expected to retract his resignation from Umno today. Newly-appointed MB Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman announced this after a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in Putrajaya today.

"We were informed that there is communication between the prime minister and Ahmad and it is positive. "I have worked with Ahmad (right) for six years and God-willing he will return to us," Newly-appointed MB Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said after heading a delegation to meet the PM today.

Ahmad Razif also said that Ajil assemblyperson Ghazali Taib, who quit Umno alongside Ahmad, is also returning to the party's fold.

"The (state legislative assembly) speaker said that he has not received any letter stating that they have returned (to Umno but) we are confident that given a little time, the number of BN assemblypersons (in the state) will go back to 17.

If Ahmad and Ghazali take back their quit letters, BN maintains its two-seat majority, holding 17 seats against Pakatan Rakyat's 15.

Vowing to continue Ahmad's good work, Razif said that the meeting with Najib was to allow the Terengganu representatives an opportunity to share their views with the central leadership. "What had happened has brought Terengganu BN closer to the PM," he said, also thanking Ahmad for his contributions to the state.