KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Datuk Ismail Kassim, who was among Barisan Nasional candidates to be Perlis mentri besar, quit Umno last night.
The Tambun Tulang assemblyman, who is also the brother of former minister and ex-Perlis MB Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, said he had toyed with the idea of leaving since 2008 and finally decided to do so after seeing the current state of Umno’s leadership, among others.
“I officially quit Umno and BN to become an independent candidate,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
“The decision was made based on several factors, one of them is that I have lost confidence in the party leadership,” he added.
On his possible entry into the Umno offshoot PPBM, he said he must do what is best for the public and align himself with the ruling party.
PPBM is part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition that is running the country and is headed by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Ismail said he would decide whether to join PPBM soon.
“I am doing this without my brother’s knowledge and I wish to state that I am not a puppet.
“I want to also prove that one can be siblings but have different views in terms of politics,” he said.
According to the report, Ismail joined Umno at age of 28, about 30 years ago and had held several key positions within the state.
He was touted as BN’s choice to be Perlis MB, but was unsuccessful after the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, said he did not want a “puppet” in the position, alluding to Shahidan.
Ismail was said to be among those behind the MB crisis in the state, after he joined fellow BN lawmakers in boycotting the swearing-in ceremony of Datuk Seri Azlan Man on May 24.
Shahidan also tried unsuccessfully to cajole Dr Mahathir into intervening in the matter.
