Hadi: Majority still support me

KUALA TERENGGANU: PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang claims that he still commands unwavering support from the grassroots despite a recent wave of murmurs after he was blamed for mooting talks on a unity government with Umno.

“I still enjoy undivided support. All divisions, except for one, backed me (during the party’s recent seminar in Shah Alam) to helm the party.

“This shows that I still the enjoy the support of the majority,” said the PAS stalwart during a high tea and dialogue session at a restaurant in Rusila, near here, on Friday.

Abdul Hadi said he had no problem if PAS members wanted him to exit but the ground sentiment proved otherwise during the seminar.

On his relationship with PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the party’s firebrand leader replied that their bond was still strong.

“He too endorsed me as the president,” he said.

Abdul Hadi said the Kelantan Mentri Besar also accepted all the resolutions passed during the seminar and agreed to work collectively to solve any problems.

“Yes, there was some friction initially (when the issue of working closely with Umno cropped up) but I moved in swiftly to patch it up,” he said in reference to the difference of opinion with Nik Aziz.

“We are not like Barsian Nasional where disputes among leaders prolong without effective arbitration.”

He also warned troublemakers that the party’s disciplinary board would not hesitate to strip them of their membership.

On reports that academics and bloggers were of the view that his popularity was dwindling, Abdul Hadi reiterated: “We don’t need the opinions of outsiders.”

However, he added that the party leadership welcomed constructive suggestions.

Three local councils get four-stars after re-rating

PETALING JAYA: Three local authorities have obtained four-star status following a re-rating exercise by the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

They are the Kajang Municipal Council, the Johor Baru Municipal Council and the Kuala Terengganu City Council.

Kajang obtained the highest score of 81.4 out of 100 followed by Johor Baru which received 77.6 points.

Both municipal councils were upgraded to four stars from three stars given by the ministry in its earlier assessment in April 2008.

The Kuala Terengganu City Council made the most notable improvement in its performance, leaping from two stars to four with a score of 76.9 points.

They were among 10 local autho- rities involved in the re-assessment which ran from Nov 3 to 11.

The local authorities were given two months from Sept 2 to Nov 2 to prepare for the exercise.

Pontian, Kubang Pasu, Hulu Selangor and Ketereh district were upgraded to three-star status from two previously while Baling, Rembau and Jelebu district councils were upgraded to two stars from one.

The earlier rating handed out last year involved 98 local authorities in peninsular Malaysia. Ten local authorities were awarded four stars.

MB faces flak — from his own reps

KUALA TERENGGANU: Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said had to fend off sharp jibes at the state legislative assembly. And it was not from the opposition assemblymen — it was his own Barisan Nasional representatives who turned on him.

The sombre atmosphere of the Terengganu assembly became heated yesterday with endless questions from Barisan assemblymen.

Several queries were posed to Ahmad during the one-hour question time, resulting in a tense atmosphere between the mentri besar and Barisan representatives.

It began with Din Adam (BN — Bukit Besi) who asked for the name of contractors involved in the iron ore mining operation in Bukit Besi, Dungun, and its social benefits to the local residents and Ahmad replied that the government had given its consent for the appointment of three companies to undertake mining in Bukit Besi.

He said the reopening of the mining area was expected to provide jobs for the locals as the companies were required to ensure that 50% of their workers were locals.

Dissatisfied with the answer, Din asked for the names of the companies and their capabilities, and whether they had really hired local residents as their workers.

“I only know about the opening of the mining area from a worker there. I am from Bukit Besi, live in Bukit Besi and am an elected representative for Bukit Besi. Yet, I know nothing about the matter,” said Din.

Ahmad explained that the Terengganu government was planning to reopen the mining area after the appointed consultant verified that the area held five million tonnes of iron ore.

The state government, he added, had appointed TBM Minerals Sdn Bhd, Cahaya Ikhtiar Sdn Bhd and Wahaba Wangi Shd Bhd on a five-year lease.

Ahmad then took a swipe at Din, hinting that he was unaware of developments in his own constituency as he was often absent from the assembly sittings and state secretariat.

A war of words also occurred between Alias Abdullah (BN — Alur Limbat) and Ahmad when the former disputed Ahmad’s answers on the financial allocation approved by the government to implement the Baruh Muring Tasek-Padang Leban-Sungai Bukit Payong monsoon drain project.

When met outside the assembly hall, Ahmad said he saw the changes during the sitting as a positive sign.

“It’s like they are the opposition but we don’t mind.

“We can also see the maturity in the elected representatives in answering the questions. I have no problem with that,” he said.

The Terengganu legislative assembly has 24 Barisan assemblymen and eight PAS representatives. — Bernama

Undercover cops pose as drivers and farmers

By R.S.N. MURALI

KUALA TERENGGANU: Under­cover police here became lorry drivers and farmers in their bid to verify talk that southern Thai militants are hiding in rural areas in the state.

Even tom yam stalls were not spared as they staked out the eateries to find out whether “unhealthy activities” were taking place or if “sleepers” were staying there.

However, police have found no evidence of Thai militants hiding in Terengganu.

The intelligence operation began following an alert raised by Thai police that some militants were hiding in remote villages here and were planning to stage a series of bombings in southern Thailand next month.

Sources told The Star that several undercover police officers were assigned to the task.

A source said Thai police provided descriptions of the suspected militants who they alleged were planning to create unrest in Sungai Golok and Waeng at the southern tip of the country.

It is learnt that the details provided by Thai police were on Thai citizens who frequently crossed the border at Sungai Golok.

The source said local village heads were also asked to inform the authorities if they know of any “outsiders” in their midst.

He said the intelligence gathering also included the tracing of foreign-registered vehicles entering the state and the duration they remained here.

“We have embarked on active vigilance following the allegations made by Thai police,” the source said.

Based on the intelligence-gathering, the source said there was no indication that could verify the presence of militants in the state.

State police chief Senior Asst Comm 1 Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said his men would work closely with their Kelantan counterparts in investigating such claims.