GUAR Chempedak assemblyman Dr Ku Abdul Rahman Ku Ismail said he left Umno after he had mulled over the pros and cons of dumping the party he had started his political career with.

The former Kedah executive councillor said he was prepared to be criticised over his decision which he described as rational.

“I am a trained scientist. I weighed the pros and cons. I sent my resignation letter to the Umno secretary general on November 9 and Annuar Musa has accepted it.

“Of course, there are many who criticised my decision, but there are those who complimented and congratulated me over it.

“But as a politician, we must be able to accept criticism,“ he told reporters in the Kedah legislative assembly lobby this evening.

A clip of his meeting with the media was posted on the Mukhriz Mahathir FC Facebook page.

Ku Rahman said he had notified the party first before informing the Kedah Assembly Speaker.

“I am the only who has done this properly. I wanted to leave the party systematically and leave the party ethically,” he said.

 He did not want to elaborate on his future plans.

Speaker Ahmad Kassim announced Ku Rahman’s decision this morning.

With Ku Rahman’s decision to become an independent, Barisan Nasional is reduced to two assemblymen in the 36-seat assembly.

Currently, the ruling Pakatan Harapan has 18 seats while Islamist party PAS has 15 seats. – November 12, 2018.