PAS deputy president Mohamed Sabu said he was about to fly to Terengganu when the three assemblypersons who quit Umno withdrew their resignation letters - before he could even blink his eyes.

The reversion of their resignations occurred so fast and so suddenly, he said, that he put off his planned trip to meet with Terengganu PAS leaders on the Terengganu crisis.

He then left the airport and headed for Bukit Gelugor, to help out with the by-election campaign of DAP's Ramkarpal Singh.

“Do you know why BN representatives are scared?” the leader, widely known as Mat Sabu, asked a 200-strong crowd at a DAP ceramah in Taman Tun Sardon, Bukit Gelugor, last night.

He said the three - former Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said, Ghazali Taib (Ajil) and Roslee Daud (Bukit Besi) were afraid because Prime Minister Najib Razak probably had “files” on them that could compromise their reputation and positions.

Ahmad and Ghazali announced their departure from Umno late on Monday night , followed soon after by Roslee, and this  triggered a crisis in the state.

However, the three retracted their decisions the next night, after which newly-minted Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman declared the Terengganu crisis  resolved.

If the trio had remained as Independents in the state assembly, the BN would have lost its majority, with only 14 representatives to Pakatan Rakyat's 15.

However, this was not to be.

Mat Sabu then related how former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had allegedly kept his subordinates in check, implying that Najib could have used the same technique to bring the trio back into Umno’s fold.

“In the past, when Mahathir appointed Sanusi Junid as the Kedah menteri besar, all the top Umno leaders and state executive councillors opposed the move,” he recalled.

“Mahathir then called all the state exco members to his residence in Seri Perdana. They did not all go in together to see him, for he called them in, one by one,” Mat Sabu said.

“Mahathir would then ask the exco member called in, ‘So you do not agree to Sanusi becoming MB?’

“Mahathir then showed the person a file and said the document contained ‘a case’ that would jeopardise his future.

“When the exco member came out of Mahathir’s office, he would tell the press that ‘Dr Mahathir’s decision is the best’ and that he supported it fully,” Mat Sabu claimed.

According to Mat Sabu, Mahathir then called the next exco member into his office and, showing another file, asked: “So, you are overseeing housing department? How much did you get for (approving) this housing scheme in Kulim?

“The Anti-Corruption Agency has asked me about it.  It’s all right if you do not support my decision (to appoint Sanusi). You can leave now,” Mahathir allegedly said, Mat Sabu claimed.

The PAS leader added: “And when this exco member came out of the office, he told the reporters, “I am very shocked. Mahathir is very wise in choosing the MB.”

Mat Sabu said the entire state exco members and Umno leaders eventually supported Mahathir’s decision, for he had “files on their involvement in corruption”.

He said Mahathir would tell them to join PAS, or become independents, if they so wished but they should also think of their wives and children, while he waved the “corruption” files at them.

“So it is the same today. When they hear about files on them, they will quickly turn around and say that Najib is their beloved and best leader,” Mat Sabu added, leaving the crowd in stitches with his remarks.