THE absence of an opposition bloc in the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly is not an excuse for Perikatan Nasional (PN) representatives to be in their comfort zone.
On the contrary, all 32 state assemblymen must carry out their duties seriously and to the best of their abilities, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.
According to Ahmad Samsuri, the first term of the state assembly session proceeded as usual even without the presence of the opposition, like every terms before this.
“I think the questions broached by PAS and Bersatu representatives are similar to the questions raised by opposition representatives in the previous term,” the Rhu Rendang assemblyman was quoted as saying when met by reporters today (Oct 5).
“There are questions that require detailed scrutiny from the government and there are also questions from ‘backbenchers’ that have been rejected by the government for not meeting question requirements. So, I think this is all normal (that there is no opposition bloc in the session.”
It was previously reported that the 15th Terengganu State Legislative Assembly which had convened on Sunday (Oct 1) made history with the absence of an opposition bloc following PN’s clean sweep of all seats in the state election in August.
When asked about the opinion of netizens who had commented that the state assembly session lacked “heat” and was uninteresting due to the lack of opposition, Ahmad Samsuri reckoned that this was subjective and that the acceptance of each individual was different.
“I don’t know how ‘heat’ is measured. Is ‘heat’ good or bad? So, this is very subjective. What is important, however, is that the goals of the session are achieved,” he added.
“As someone who has been entrusted as the head of the state government, I will always remind all assemblymen to carry out their duties to the people responsibly and fairly.” – Oct 5, 2023
Main pic credit: Utusan Malaysia
