Terengganu MB brushes aside talk over his tenure

Ahmad was first appointed MB after the 2008 general election. — File picKUALA TERENGGANU, May 13 — Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said has brushed aside speculation that he would hold office for a specific period.
Speaking to reporters on his first day as mentri besar for a second term at Wisma Iman here today, he said such speculation had been rife since he became mentri besar in 2008.
Ahmad, 56, said he has been subjected to rumours that he would not stay long in office as the mentri besar then.

“Speculation is rife after every election. Rumours had gone wild following the delay in the swearing in of the mentri besar. Actually, I was notified about the delay as the prime minister had so many things to attend to,” said Ahmad.
Ahmad was first appointed mentri besar after the 2008 general election following a stalemate.
He replaced Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, who was then state Umno liaison committee chairman, after he was given the consent by the Sultan of Terengganu.
Ahmad holds three portfolios — state planning, finance and investment; state land, petroleum and natural resources; and state local government and housing.
Meanwhile, Ahmad chided Terengganu PAS election director Ariffin Deraman for suggesting that opposition assemblymen should be allocated funds by the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government since PAS did not do so when it helmed Terengganu from 1999 to 2004.
He said the PAS-led Kelantan government had not done that in the first place.
“Did the Kedah and Selangor governments do that when the opposition held the reins last term,” he added.
Ariffin yesterday proposed that opposition assemblymen be given an allowance equivalent to that of state constituency development officers (PPD).
Asked on Ariffin’s warning that PAS would continue to label Ahmad’s administration as cruel, emotional and vengeful for stopping allocations meant for PPD in constituencies won by PAS and PKR, Ahmad said it was time for opposition elected representatives to do their work.
PAS has the preponderance of making accusations against the BN, he said, adding that during the 13th general election the opposition alleged that there was a blackout, ballot boxes being tampered with, and that the indelible ink was easy to remove even though PAS and PKR representatives were present at polling stations.
“We will not neglect the people in the constituencies won by the opposition, instead we will be using a different approach to help the people, namely through local leaders, district officers and government agencies,” he added.
Terengganu BN retained power with a simple majority after winning 17 state seats while the opposition obtained 15 seats (14 from PAS and one from PKR). — Bernama