Umno in dire straits, says former Terengganu MB Ahmad Said

Ahmad Said says Najib Razak's resignation as Umno president and BN chairman is 'too little, too late'.

Former Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said says Najib Razak should have stepped down well before the May 9 election. (Facebook pic)

KEMAMAN: Former Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said has warned that Umno is in dire straits as most of its members believe it will be difficult for the party to regroup after Barisan Nasional’s (BN) defeat at the polls last week.

The Kemaman Umno division chief said Najib Razak’s resignation as Umno president and BN chairman was “too little, too late” as the former prime minister had been well aware of the decline in support for the coalition even before the May 9 election.

“Najib’s withdrawal from the party is a bit too late because we find that he should have decided to leave well ahead of the general election, after he saw the political situation in Malaysia at that time.

“This is because (Prime Minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad came out with a statement that BN would lose if Najib did not step down, and that is exactly what happened.

“When there are signs of dissidence and that the people do not need us anymore, it is time for us to step down. Now, it is no use crying over spilt milk. It is not easy to bounce back after what happened,” he told reporters at his residence in Telok Kalong yesterday.

Ahmad, who won the Kijal state seat in last week’s election, said he was confident of Mahathir’s ability to revive the economy, based on his previous track record as prime minister for 22 years.

“I would like to congratulate Tun as this has never happened in history… After leaving the post for 15 years, he has returned to contest again and been given the trust by the people (to be prime minister),” he said.

When asked whether he would be joining PPBM, Ahmad said: “No comment. I have not met Tun M yet… Let’s see how it goes.” -FMT