JOHOR BAHRU: Incumbent Larkin assemblyman Datuk Mohd Izhar Ahmad (pix) has quit Bersatu, fresh on the heels of Mazlan Bujang, the Puteri Wangsa assemblyman who left the party on Thursday.
Mohd Izhar Ahmad, who is also State Investment, Entrepreneur Development, Cooperatives and Human Resources Committee chairman, said the move was necessary after finding that Bersatu was losing direction and had failed to continue working on its previous agendas.
Mohd Izhar also said that he has lost confidence in party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s leadership.
“I am grateful to have served the people and surpassed the KPI (key performance index) as an elected representative and state executive councillor, without bad records... and I will continue to serve the people.
“For the sake of political stability and development in Johor, I would like to appeal to all voters and my supporters, especially those in the Larkin constituency, to vote for Barisan Nasional (BN),” he said in a media conference here today.
Mohd Izhar also said he will not be defending his seat in the upcoming Johor state election.
When asked, Mohd Izhar said he had no knowledge on whether there will be others from the Bersatu leadership who will be following his and Mazlan’s footsteps.
“I have had no discussions with anyone, including Mazlan... both our decisions came about from our own realisation. If you are to ask if more (Bersatu members) will follow suit and leave, I do not know,” he said.
In the 14th general election (GE14), Mohd Izhar, then with Pakatan Harapan and contesting under a PKR ticket, defeated BN candidate Datuk Yahya Jaafar and PAS’ Zakiah Tukirin with a 8,590-vote majority.
Last Thursday, Mazlan, also a state executive council member, announced that he was quitting Bersatu, along with 22 committee members of the party’s Tebrau division, which he led. — Bernama