Terengganu UMNO Liason Committee chairman must be MB - Ahmad Shabery

He said he was of the opinion that politics in a state would be handicapped if the post of State Liaison Committee chairman was not held by the Menteri Besar.

"The Menteri Besar will not be able to carry out his duty properly if he does not have the power to direct, control and develop his vision without a commanding hold on politics.

"Similarly, the person holding the post of State UMNO Liaison Committee, if he does not have a position in the government, (when the government is the Barisan Nasional), he will not be able to carry out his duties well," he told reporters after meeting representatives of film associations at the Malaysian National Film Development Corporation's (Finas) headquarters in Hulu Klang here, today.

He said this when asked to comment on a newspaper report (The Awang Selamat Column in Mingguan Malaysia yesterday) which mentioned him (Ahmad Shabery) as a suitable candidate to fill the post of chairman of the Terengganu UMNO Liaison Committee, following the resignation of Datuk Seri Ahmad Said as Menteri Besar recently.

The new Menteri Besar of Terangganu is Seberang Takir State Assemblyman, Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman.

Ahmad Shabery, who is also Kemaman Member of Parliament and Minister of Communication and Multimedia, said it was the norm that the Menteri Besar also held the post of chairman of the State UMNO Liaison Committee, except for Perlis due to its small size.

In another development, Ahmad Shabery said he wanted Finas to be empowered to help in the expansion of the local film industry.

"I urge them (Finas) to see if the existing act (governing Finas) has to be amended so that the agency can provide a better development in terms of best practices.

"Look at the arts industry of South Korea which has developed, 20 years ago nobody wanted to watch their films but it's not the same now. A good story line and cinematography can make a film attractive," he said.