Banyak kisah menarik di Pahang sekarang ini. Kita mengambil sikap melapurkan kenyataan semua pihak, khususnya dari Fauzi sendiri.

Ada pihak mengkritik Fauzi sebagai kecewa atau merajuk tetapi Fauzi mengatakan beliau sebenarnya mengumpul secukup bukti dan berhenti kerana sudah tidak diminati melalui undi. Beberapa pemerhati politik berpendapat pihak Khalil sengaja menaja untuk mengnyahkan Fauzi. Dua pencabar Fauzi adalah rapat dengan Khalil. MB Datuk Adnan masih menghargai Fauzi kerana berkhidmat dengan penuh cemerlang.

Menurut Fauzi lagi, beliau membuat lapuran polis dan tidak kepada jawatankuasa disiplin parti kerana itulah yang utama dan pertama dulu kerana ia melibatkan harta milik rakyat, bukannya parti.

Tan Sri Khalil telah membenarkan kawasan hutan balak dinodai melebihi had yang dibenarkan oleh polisi hutan negara. (lebih 11,312 hektar). Beliau juga telah menyalah gunakan dana sehingga tidak sampai kepada pihak yang sepatutnya menerimanya.

Umno begitu bimbang jika ada pilihanraya. Pertandingan perlu diadakan dalam masa 60 hari selepas perletakkan jawatan itu. Ini bermakna ia amat hampir dengan perhimpunan agung nanti yang dijadualkan berlangsung bulan depan atau awal Mei. Banyak pihak akan kepanasan telinga jika prestasi merosot menggila.

Sementara itu Wanita Umno Pahang juga turut bergolak. Maznah Mazlan sedang dalam proses untuk digulingkan.

KOMEN

Apakah hukum karma kini sudah mula menjelma buat presiden Umno yang masih degil memadu kuasa? Kebangkitan beratus-ratus lagi 'Fauzi' bakal membuat ramai pemimpin Umno tidak akan dapat tidur lena - dan ini termasuk presidennya yang sudah tumpul taringnya.

Banyak kejutan berlaku buat Mahathir selepas terkejut di Lunas dulu. Dia baru sahaja dikejutkan oleh BBM yang menukar rentak secara tiba-tiba. Walaupun BBM cuma bising sekadar seketika, kesannya sudah jauh menular ke seluruh negara. Sebarang kejutan yang serupa diseluruh negara bakal menggugat Mahathir - kerana perhimpunan agung sudah semakin dekat tarikhnya. Patutlah dia melancarkan kempen Semarak II kerana bimbang kebangkitan rakyat, khususnya akar-umbi Umno. Lagipun pembangkang sudah sukar memberi ceramah sejak kes Kg Medan mengorbankan nyawa. Rupa-rupanya ini adalah antara muslihat pintarnya juga?

- Kapal Berita-

Rencana Rujukkan:

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/npwo533.html

Pro-Anwar Umno boss quits

BY WOON WUI TEK
Mar 30, 2001

A BARISAN Nasional assemblyman has ignited a political crisis by resigning his seat in Pahang.

He did it after lodging a police report against a Federal Minister who was mentri besar.

Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman, 55, assemblyman for Beserah, said: "Yes, I have tendered the resignation letter," but declined to comment further, reports The Star.

The police report was made against Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob. He is Umno Secretary-General and Information Minister.

If Datuk Fauzi remains firm with his decision, a by-election will have to be called, unless he holds on to the seat and joins another party or declares himself an independent.

Pahang Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, said: "I have feedback that Fauzi did not get enough nominations to even qualify to defend his post (of Kuantan Umno division chief) and if I know him well, he will surely resign," he said.

POLICE REPORT

Datuk Fauzi filed a police report alleging over-logging in timber-rich Pahang state - back when Tan Sri Khalil was mentri besar.

"I must do the right thing. And if I have no support, if the party doesn't take my complaint seriously, why should I do the right thing in the wrong party?" he told The New Paper over the telephone.

"I'm not saying it was corruption. But at the very least there was mismanagement," quipped the feisty Datuk Fauzi.

"After I became a State Assemblyman, I began an investigation."

It showed, he said, that the rakyat (people) "were being deprived" due to over-logging in the past.

"I represent the rakyat. If the rakyat are being cheated, I must bring change."

In a way, he has always stood apart.

When former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim fell, Datuk Fauzi was one of only a few ruling-coalition leaders to publicly protest.

Even so, Datuk Fauzi stayed loyal to his ethnic-Malay Umno party.

And last night, the man often described as "close to Anwar" would not rule out jumping ship altogether.

To critics, however, Datuk Fauzi has simply been driven to desperation by a challenge to his Umno base.

Datuk Fauzi was once a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department and member of parliament for Kuantan.

Already, there had been his "demotion" from parliament to the state assembly in the last election. Now, a protege of the Information Minister is after Datuk Fauzi's Kuantan division leadership.

Observers say there's a concerted effort to depose him.

Datuk Fauzi said it was only appropriate that he vacate the seat because it was evident that Umno members did not support him based on response from the branches.

He said he was not afraid of being destroyed by his outspokenness.

"I will be able to sleep well. I can live happily on just ikan bilis."

TROUBLE IN WANITA UMNO

A POWER struggle is developing within Pahang's Wanita Umno (woman's group).

Eleven Wanita division chiefs are making an intense bid to oust State Wanita chief Maznah Mazlan.

They said that they had lost confidence in her leadership, reports the New Straits Times.

It is learnt that they have submitted a memorandum to party president Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Pahang Umno chief Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said it was the work of frustrated members who are not getting what they want. He dismissed the internal squabbles as having roots in some members' obsession with positions.

"As the 'bapak' (father) to all Umno members in the state, I will meet them if things get out of hand. But it will be better for them to resolve the dispute themselves," he said.

The Singapore Straits Times
31st March 2001

Last thing Umno wants - by-election

After Datuk Fauzi Rahman resigned as the state assemblyman for Beserah in Pahang, the ruling party is forced to defend a seat it barely won from PAS

By Brendan Pereira
MALAYSIA CORRESPONDENT

KUALA LUMPUR - The last thing Malaysia's ruling coalition wanted was a by-election in the unforgiving Malay heartland. It got one yesterday. Datuk Fauzi Rahman resigned as the state assemblyman for Beserah in Pahang.

The former deputy minister said that he came to that decision after being unable to obtain enough nominations to defend the Kuantan Umno division chief's position.

He said that it was only appropriate that he vacate the state seat as party members in the area did not support him.

He also alleged that corruption was rife in the nomination process for office-bearers at divisional polls.

It is understood that party leaders in Pahang were trying to get the 55-year-old to change his mind, knowing that the ruling party cannot afford another cycle of dirty linen being washed in public.

Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Adnan Yaacob led the charm offensive, saying that Datuk Fauzi was a competent state assemblyman, who had set up his own service centre and who worked the ground from 10 am till 1 am.

The Straits Times understands that Datuk Fauzi has met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad a number of times with a litany of complaints.

But the Premier - who has a full plate trying to unite his party and contain a resurgent opposition - was unimpressed with the threats to resign.

He said that Umno members who did not receive enough nominations to contest next month's divisional polls should not create problems for the party.

Datuk Fauzi agreed with Dr Mahathir's observation. He said: 'I am not causing any problems for my party. I am withdrawing.'

His action will give the ruling coalition some grief. Barisan Nasional will face an uphill task retaining the Beserah seat.

The constituency is in a state where Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) made significant inroads at the general election, winning eight state seats and losing a clutch by under 1,000 votes.

So impressive was the showing by the opposition party that PAS leaders predict that Pahang will fall into its hands in 2004, the year the next polls are scheduled.

In Beserah, Datuk Fauzi defeated his challenger from PAS by an uncomfortable margin of 985 votes.

His supporters say that he was able to win because many Malays who were unhappy with the administration's treatment of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim still cast their ballot for him.

The reason: he was a close friend of the former deputy prime minister and was never shy to say so even after the former DPM was jailed for corruption.

His supporters say that with his resignation, that bloc of pro-Anwar support will go to the opposition candidate and propel him into the state assembly.

PAS says that it is confident of victory in a by-election because its members have been on election mode every day since the last general election.

Also, there is fresh ammunition to attack the government.

On Wednesday, Datuk Fauzi lodged a police report against Information Minister Tan Sri Khalil Yaacob.

In it, he alleged that while Tan Sri Khalil was the mentri besar of Pahang, he contravened the national forestry policy and allowed an area larger than 11,312 ha to be harvested for timber.

There is also another reason why a by-election now is bad news for Barisan Nasional.

A contest has to be held 60 days after the resignation is accepted by the Election Commission.

As such, polling will come close on the heels of the Umno divisional election, scheduled for next month and early May.

Party members will be focused on keeping their positions in the party, rather than campaigning for a state seat with little bearing on their personal well-being.

Hardly the ideal preparations for a party trying to stave off a resurgent opposition.

A politician in the limelight

KUALA LUMPUR - Datuk Fauzi Rahman (right) is hardly someone anybody would describe as a controversial politician. But he has had his fair share of the limelight.

The former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department was accused of expressing support for Anwar Ibrahim two years ago at the opening of two Umno divisional meetings in Kelantan.

Following his remarks, calls were made for him to be sacked from the party, and a state leader even said that he sent tapes of Datuk Fauzi's remarks to party president Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

But Datuk Fauzi stood his ground, insisting that all he said at the meeting was: 'I am not ashamed to say Anwar is a friend but what is important is loyalty to the leaders and that is the way to save the party.'

In the 1999 general election, he won the Beserah state seat with a 985-vote majority.

Barely weeks after Barisan Nasional was returned to power in Pahang, he was unwittingly in the limelight again.

This time, he was asked to leave Istana Abu Bakar in Pekan before the swearing-in of new Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, who took over from Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob, who contested and won the Kuantan parliamentary seat. --The Star/Asia News Network

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg

http://www3.bernama.com/web/general/ge3003_1.htm

March 30 , 2001 10:23AM

Fauzi To Submit Resignation Letter Friday

KUANTAN, March 30 (Bernama) -- State Assemblyman for Beserah Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman will submit his letter of resignation to vacate his state assembly seat to Pahang Umno Liaison chairman Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob later Friday.

Fauzi, 55, said he decided to vacate the Beserah state assembly seat after the majority of the Umno branches in Beserah did not nominate him to defend the post of Kuantan Umno division head in the party election next month.

"This means that there are Umno branches in Beserah which have rejected my leadership. When Umno branches in Beserah have rejected me, it implies that they don't endorse what I have done for the constituency and reject my services or what I have done," he said at a media conference after meeting Adnan at the Menteri Besar's official residence, here.

It is learnt that Fauzi's decision to tender his resignation letter was made after he was said to have failed to obtain at least 13 nominations from the 65 Umno branches in the Kuantan division to enable him to defend his post as the division head.

A candidate must garner 20 per cent nominations from the total number of branches in the division to enable him to contest for the post of division head.

According to the Kuantan Umno division office, Fauzi had so far managed to secure only nine nominations to contest for the post of Kuantan Umno head while Kuantan vice-head Datuk Faisal Abdullah received 29 nominations and deputy head Datuk Wan Adnan Wan Mamat had 20 nominations.

Fauzi felt that the move not to nominate him to defend his post would only be to the detriment of the people of Beserah as they had an assemblyman whom they could not accept while he was wasting his time doing work which was not acceptable to the constituents.

"On this basis, I feel it's better for me to step down as the assemblyman for Beserah, unless there is an investigation by the authorities and it is found that there are other elements involved such as corruption and so on.

"If the Beserah Umno reject me because of my inadequacy, they will only be wasting their time in having a state assemblyman who is not compatible or not bringing any benefit to them," he said.

On his meeting with Adnan, who is also Pahang Menteri Besar, Fauzi said he was called up by Adnan to seek clarification on rumours that he was leaving Umno.

He said he held the principle that "he rose through Umno. When I rise through Umno...it is Umno that will decide my position."

Fauzi said his resignation letter had been prepared and according to procedure, as a state assemblyman he must submit it to the State Umno Liaison chairman.

Asked why he had not lodged a report with the Umno Disciplinary Committee, he said he was not the type who liked to complain, on the contrary he preferred to make a police report which he described as "the first of many."

He referred to the police report which he made at the Kuantan District Police Headquarters at about 3pm on Wednesday against Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob whom he alleged had been involved with misappropriation of state resources when he was the Pahang Menteri Besar.

He said he reported the matter to the police because what he reported had nothing to do with the party, on the contrary, it concerned state resources.

"After 1 year and 2 months (of being a state assemblyman) I know what the rakyat feel and what the rakyat have been deprieved of. As a state assemblyman, I was involved with the state administration and I feel the acts (misappropriation) were detrimental (to the people)," he said.

In his police report, Fauzi claimed that Khalil, who is also the member of parliament for Kuantan, had committed malpractices while he was Pahang Menteri Besar, including awarding timber concessions in a manner which was not according to procedure.

"His actions had affected state resources and the cash flow of the present state government. It also denied the people in the Beserah state constituency and the people in the state of Pahang of their rights to receive their proper allocation," he said.

Khalil was the Pahang Menteri Besar for 13 years since 1986 before being made Information Minister upon winning the Kuantan parliamentary seat during the last general election.

Pahang Police Chief Datuk Mohd Noor Hamat confirmed that police had received the report.

Meanwhile, Adnan said that he could not make any comment as he had yet to see the contents of the letter.

However, he said if he did receive the letter, he would make a study based on certain reports whether the number of nominations received by Fauzi truly reflected that his leadership was being rejected.

"We must look into the matter because from the reports we received so far, Datuk Fauzi had discharged his responsibilities excellently as the Beserah assemblyman. As the MB, I am very satisfied with his performance," he said.

He said the matter would be forwarded to Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad to arrive at a common decision.

He said he would make his recommendations to Dr Mahathir to consider in case it was found that the constituents in Beserah still required Fauzi's services.

When asked for his decision upon receiving the resignation letter, Adnan said he could not decide immediately as he had to give time to Fauzi, at least for a "cooling off period".

-- BERNAMA