KUALA TERENGGANU: Terengganu’s Bersekutu Bersatu wing has no objection to the state government’s proposal to appoint a Gerakan member as an appointed assemblyman.
State Bersekutu Bersatu wing chief Lim Chew Sieng said the proposal to appoint an assemblyman to look after the welfare and interests of non-Muslim communities was raised by the wing two years ago.
He said the state wing welcomed Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar’s proposal to appoint a representative from a party within the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
He added that such an appointment should have been made in 2025.
“The last time a party representative was appointed as an assemblyman was in 2018, when Zuraida Md Noor, who is now the Ladang assemblyman, was appointed and sworn in for one term that lasted until 2023.
“Although Bersekutu is no longer a member of the PN coalition, we welcome and have no objection to the appointment under Clause 27(2) of the Terengganu State Constitution,” he said.
Earlier, Samsuri, who is also PN chairman, announced during a visit to the coalition’s operations room in Air Keroh, Melaka, today that a Chinese representative from Gerakan would be appointed as an assemblyman.
Samsuri, who is also Kemaman MP, is expected to propose the appointment at the state executive council meeting next Wednesday.
Lim said appointing a non-Malay representative would give the community a voice in the state assembly.
“Although we are from different parties and Bersekutu is no longer part of the PN coalition, we hope the appointed representative will raise the concerns and interests of non-Muslim communities during state assembly sittings.
“We hope the representative will serve as a bridge to convey the views, needs and interests of these communities to the state government,” he said.
Terengganu Gerakan chairman Wong Kim True is understood to be the second appointed assemblyman after Zuraida.