BN turmoil left Terengganu in a mess, says Samsuri

June 18, 2023

BN turmoil left Terengganu in a mess, says Samsuri

PETALING JAYA: The Terengganu state government was a mess after changes of menteri besar under Barisan Nasional (BN) between 2004 and 2018, says Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar of PAS who took the helm in 2018.

Samsuri, a PAS vice-president, likened the previous state government to a house with a leaky roof, unusable toilets and a lack of basic amenities, which needed to be “fixed”.

He said the problem with the previous BN state governments was how the menteri besar changed after every general election.

“Every time the menteri besar changes, projects are halted and a new one is started,” he said in a speech at the launch of Perikatan Nasional’s election machinery in Marang last night.

“They all wanted to show they were bringing development, but they failed to resolve the people’s issues,” he said.

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Samsuri, who is assemblyman for Ru Rendang, accused the federal government of a lack of coherence, which had caused confusion among civil servants.

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Samsuri said it appeared as though ministers did not discuss key issues among themselves before commenting on the matter, or that they “did not have a Whatsapp group” to make sure they were all on the same page.

“One person says this, another says that, and suddenly someone else has to correct the matter. Government officers get confused, and all the more then the people,” he said.

Tussle for MB’s post

Terengganu had three menteris besar between 2004 and 2018. They were Idris Jusoh, Ahmad Said and Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman.

The nomination of Idris Jusoh for another term in 2008 failed to receive royal approval and Ahmad Said was appointed under controversial circumstances.

Umno balked at his appointment, stripping him of his membership and planned a confidence vote against him. However, PAS said they would support Ahmad Said. The crisis was resolved when Umno backed down and Ahmad continued in office.

He stepped down in 2014 to make way for Ahmad Razif as part of a political deal but caused another crisis when he and two other assemblymen left Umno, causing Terengganu to be run by a minority government for the first time.

All three later returned to Umno but Ahmad later tried to mount a confidence motion against Rafiz, which failed.