KUALA TERENGGANU, Feb 5- A group of 80 hardcore PAS supporters from Kampung Jerong Sebarang and Kampung Bukit Cempedak in Marang have turned their backs on the party and have expressed support for Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN).
Ramli Abdullah, 53, who claimed to be the leader of the group, said they were disheartened with PAS for failing to uplift the livelihood of the village folks, especially the poor, despite the various promises made.
“We had been supporting PAS for more than 30 years and nothing was done to develop our villages,” he added.
He said they decided to support BN and join Umno as members because of the transformation programme and the various assistance provided by the BN government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“The programmes introduced by the BN government are meant to help the people, especially the low income earners,” he told reporters after meeting Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said at the “Selamat Tinggal PAS (STP), BN Di
Hatiku” (Goodbye PAS, BN in my heart) programme here.
At the function, the group pledged their support for Umno/BN and then submitted the Umno membership forms to Ahmad, who is the Terengganu BN/Umno chairman. Meanwhile, Ahmad, in his speech at the function, said the government had built 300 units of affordable homes in Bukit Gasing and another 500 units in Bukit Payong, both in the Marang district.
More houses and a religious school, costing between RM50 million and RM60 million, would be built if BN wins the Marang parliamentary seat and all four state seats in the constituency in the coming general election, he added.
Currently, PAS controls the Marang parliamentary seat, as well as the Ru Rendang and Bukit Payong state seats. The other two state seats, Alor Limbat and Pengkalan Berangan, are won by BN in the last general election.
Meanwhile in BESUT, 388 PAS and Parti keadilan Rakyat (PKR) members left the parties to join Umno. They handed their Umno membership application forms to Besut Umno division leader and Jerteh Assemblyman Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh at a function in Kampung Pengkalan Nyireh last night. The former PAS and PKR members comprised 250 from the Kota Putera state constituency, followed by 83 from Kuala Besut, 34 from Jerteh and 21 from Hulu
Besut. Also present at the function were Besut Umno deputy chief and Hulu Besut Assemblyman Nawi Mohamad, Besut Umno vice-chief and Kota Putera Assemblyman Muhammad Pehimi Yusoff, and Kuala Besut Assemblyman Dr A Rahman Mokhtar, who is also Besut Umno secretary.
BERNAMA
