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
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