Umno minister resigns, citing loyalty to party

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah today announced his resignation from the Cabinet.

“Taking into account the stand and decisions of the party, and as a loyal Umno member, I hereby resign as a federal minister,” he said in a statement.

Shamsul, who is the MP for Lenggong in Perak, had earlier this year vowed to resign as minister ahead of the Umno general assembly in March which decided to cut ties with the Perikatan Nasional government.

In his statement, Shamsul thanked Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for appointing him, adding that he would now focus on his constituency as well as on strengthening Umno “in facing the challenging political situation”.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former leader Najib Razak have been at the forefront of a campaign to get Cabinet members from the party to vacate their posts, in an attempt to topple Muhyiddin.