Ahmad Said dares Umno to sack him

PETALING JAYA: "Sack me ... and risk losing the state," former Terengganu mentri besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said warned Umno today.
His dare to the party comes in the face of the Terengganu Umno liaison committee's recommendation on Tuesday that action be taken against him for criticising the state party leadership.
Ahmad Said has in particular been vociferous in his criticism of his successor, current Mentri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman.
Indeed, sacking Ahmad Said from the party could be perilous for Umno, which has only a two-seat majority in the 32-seat Terengganu state legislative assembly with 17 seats while the opposition has a combined total of 15 with PAS holding 14 seats and PKR one.
As such, sacking Ahmad Said would lead to a 16-16 seats deadlock between the state government and opposition.
"It is up to them (Umno). If they want to sack me, then there is nothing I can do. But if they do, it would be 16 to 16 (seats). The mentri besar will then have to seek an audience with the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly.
"Then we will see what happens," Ahmad Said, who is the Kijal assemblyman, said when contacted by theSun today.
He said although he may not have huge support among the state's Umno assemblymen, he is confident that one or two of them would join him in leaving the party if he is sacked.
In May 2014, when Ahmad Said was forced to step down as mentri besar, two Umno assemblymen, Ghazali Taib (Ajil) and Roslee Daud (Bukit Besi), quit the party resulting in Barisan Nasional being a minority government in the state for a brief 48 hours.
Only after the intervention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak was the situation resolved with Ahmad Said and the other two returning to Umno's fold.
Political analyst Prof Madya Dr Azizuddin Mohd Sani, when contacted by theSun, explained that in the event of a 16-16 deadlock or a majority seat in favour of the opposition, the opposition can push for a vote of no-confidence and inform the Sultan of the loss of support for the mentri besar.
"The Sultan can then call each assemblymen and hear their stand on the matter to decide if Ahmad Razif is no longer suitable to lead the state, and may name a new mentri besar," he said.
Nevertheless, Umno's fate would ultimately be in the hands of PAS, as it would be up to the Islamist party to decide if they support Umno, or are against it.
"If PAS declares that they do not support Ahmad Razif and Umno, then the state Umno government will crumble. But if we look at recent developments, PAS seems to be inclined towards Umno nowadays.
"So, at the end of the day, BN could still be the government there, or Umno may even form a unity government with PAS," he added.
PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan, when contacted, said the party is open to having Ahmad Said or any other Umno members join them and form the state government, as long as they are willing to accept the party's struggle.
"But in principle, PAS is always open for anyone to join, on the condition that they respect and accept our policies and understand our struggles," Nasrudin said.