Bye-bye Umno: 31 in Langkawi quit the party en masse

ALOR SETAR: Former Umno assemblyman for Ayer Hangat in Langkawi, Datuk Mohd Rawi Abd Hamid, led 30 people from eight branches on the island in quitting Umno on Thursday (Dec 20).

He made the announcement during a press conference at the Royale Signature Hotel at about 11am.

“With a heavy heart, I announce that I am quitting Umno, which I joined in 1990, holding various party posts from division to state level.

“Eight Umno branches in Ayer Hangat Umno will be closed after the leadership and committee members leave,” he said.

Mohd Rawi said he was ready to join another political party to continue to serve the rakyat. However, he did not want to reveal which party he would be applying to join.

He said Umno was not united and there was a lot of in-fighting.

“The majority of Umno members are still in a lurch, waiting for direction from the party. Many are not convinced that Umno will rise again when they look at the present political scenario.

“I estimate that about 500 more Umno members in Langkawi will announce they are leaving the party after this,” he said.

Mohd Rawi is the second Umno leader in Kedah to leave Umno.

On Nov 12, Umno's Guar Chempedak assemblyman Datuk Wira Dr. Ku Abd. Rahman Ku Ismail resigned from the party and announced he would be an independent assemblyman.

He was one of three Barisan Nasional elected representatives in the 36-member assembly. 

The other two are Sungai Tiang’s Suraya Yaacob and Bandar Baharu’s Norsabrina Mohd Noor.