Hulu Terengganu residents protest move taken by Ajil assemblyman

More than 50 villagers, most of whom are Hulu Terengganu Umno members, have expressed their disappointment at the move by Ajil State Assemblyman, Ghazali Taib, 52, to leave Umno.

They expressed their disappointment by gathering near the residence of the Assemblyman by raising banners to show their displeasure over the action of the Assemblyman on Tuesday afternoon.

A resident, Mohd Wahid Ngah, 53, said such a thing should not have occurred and the State Assemblyman concerned must abide by the decision of the central party leadership.

He said that as loyal supporters of Umno, they were prepared to sacrifice their time and energy to ensure that the Barisan Nasional (BN) continued to rule in Terengganu, particularly in their own areas.

"I am very disappointed over the move by the elected representative (Ghazali) in the area, we were willing to give our solid support to him to undertake changes here but he decided to leave (Umno).

Meanwhile, former Kampung Jak branch head, Saad Mustafa, 52, described the action taken by Ghazali as proof that he was not a genuine Umno man.

"To me, he is not a loyal party member, otherwise he would not have made a hasty decision without thinking about the implication and totally did not appreciate the contributions of other party members," he said.

Meanwhile, Menerong Umno Youth branch vice-head, Mohd Faizal Mustapa, 30, hoped the matter could be resolved in a cordial manner.

"We are still hoping for an answer and the real status of the Assemblyman who had relinquished his post immediately besides hoping that the central and state Umno could resolve the crisis as soon as possible," he said.

Ghazali is an Exco member of the Terengganu government and is Chairman of the State Committee on Education, Higher Education, Innovations and Special Functions. In the 13th general election, Ghazali defeated Mohd Razki Yah Alias (PAS) with a majority of 2,782 votes.

Besides Ghazali, former Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said (Kijal) and Roslee Daud (Bukit Besi) who was the Chairman of the State Committee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship, Cooperatives and Consumerism also left Umno early Tuesday morning to become Independent Assemblymen.