Tengku Razaleigh signals his claim for UMNO No 1

Two and one-half years ago, I expressed my disappointment with Tengku Razaleigh, or Ku Li as he is more affectionately known, for choosing a divisive and inflammatory platform to regain his lost prominence in UMNO. I wrote in Ku Li no longer Kool & Kalm!:

… he adopted a controversial but old winner by publicly voicing strong criticism of the government in permitting non-Malay language educational institutions such as the Chinese-owned Tengku Abdul Rahman University to exist, a move that would prove undoubtedly a sure favourite with UMNO hardcore ‘warriors’. Sure enough the Malay NGOs supported him. Then, he bemoaned regrets that the government hasn’t helped the Malays solve their problems despite its power and authority to do so.

Apart from his ethnic-provoking but totally incredulous 'government not helping Malays', in August 07 he was at it again, which I blogged in Ku Li warned of May 13 again, extract as follows:

Ku Li said at a forum on Merdeka held in Kuala Lumpur by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry and National Writers Association (Gapena) that Malaysia will descend into chaos if the social contract agreed upon 50 years ago was unravelled.

Nice f* touch, Tengku, to invoke the May 13 threat at the 50th Merdeka forum!

He urged the government to manage the increasing communal polarization wisely, such as anyone questioning aspects of that social contract - eg. position of Islam, special privileges for Malays …..

He declared: “If it (social contract) is to be revamped, I predict the nation will descend into chaos. If the guarantees laid out in it cannot be protected, a situation worse than May 13, 1969 (racial riots) may arise.”

His efforts to reclaim his once admired and envied position at the top of UMNO' echelon were in vain. The established UMNO chiefs have no more space for him as it was getting a wee crowded at Eagle's Lair, and noveau party climbers ignored him for the party nobody he has sadly become. Besides, UMNO already has its full complement of keris wavers.

Only old timers with a recollection of UMNO's hey days and familiarity with Ku Li's admirable credentials reflected on what could have been for this once charming cosmopolitan well educated prince (I suspect well-known socio-political writer Dr Bakri Musa is one of his admirers).

So, have we heard the last of him? Unfortunately no, because ….....

Recently Zaid Ibrahim in an interview with Malaysiakini as published in Zaid: Umno needs reformasi said:

“No, I don't think that Pak Lah should resign now. He suffered a setback but he is still the leader of the party which commands the majority in Parliament. Technically he can stay and you can't fault him for that either.”

“The more important question is "Should Pak Lah continue to lead Umno?" That I think should be decided by the party. I would like to see the best person lead the party of course.”

“People like to complain about Pak Lah but then who do we want to succeed him? There is Najib (Abdul Razak). But is he the best person to lead the party? Or would it be Tengku Razaleigh (Hamzah)? It could be anybody.”

Just my personal reading but I analyse in Zaid’s broad but meaningful statement his preference for fellow Kelantanese Ku Li to make a comeback to lead UMNO.

Perhaps Ku Li, like some of his fellow royalties, sensing a politically injured AAB, has quickly embarked on his comeback campaign. In Malaysiakini Ku Li wants Umno to call EGM, he wrote a letter to all 193 Umno division leaders urging them to call an extraordinary general meeting on May 11, which incidentally is the anniversary of UMNO's formation and no doubt carries special significance.

Ku Li tossed in a few sentimental reminders of UMNO’s earlier glory by reminding everyone of UMNO’s span of political control then:

"In the first general election in 1955, Umno controlled two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. Today, we are a minority voice in Parliament. At the federal level, Umno is no longer a strong political power. I nearly shed tears thinking about this scenario.”

My dear Ku Li, let's put things in perspective. Isn't an UMNO man still the PM, with the BN continuing as the ruling party?

Then, 1955 is 1955, but now it is 2008, where UMNO has many splinter groups!

Isn't the de facto Opposition leader an UMNO man (once No 2 like you, but ejected from the party in 1998)? Also, his (UMNO-nurtured) man controls Selangor.

PAS, also born of UMNO, controls Kelantan and Kedah while a PAS MB will head the Perak government. In short the UMNO brand (some rebranded like Lexus from Toyota) is all over, except for Penang which was lost to the opposition in 1969.

Had your Semangat 46 been successful, it would have been a variant model of UMNO as well. Given the dominance of the UMNO brand inclusive of its political offsprings, please rest assure the Malays won't ever be politically or economically marginalised, that is, if that has been your concern. So, what is there to cry about other than what could have been for you personally?

Then sadly, he brought out his old hobby horse, which I mentioned in two previous posts:

"Worse still, at the 12th general election, BN lost four states - Penang, the home state of our own party president (which has fallen into the hands of Chinese-based DAP), Kedah (which has fallen to PAS), Perak (which has fallen to DAP despite that the mentri besar is from PAS), and Selangor (which will be dominated by non-Malay DAP and non-Malays from PKR despite that the mentri besar is a Malay."

‘… hands of the Chinese-based DAP …’!!!

What about Karpal Singh, National Chairperson of the DAP, Dr Ramasamy, Deputy CM of Penang, Kulasegaran, MP from Ipoh Barata, Charles Santiago, MP for Klang and a host of Indian ADUNs?

Ha, my dear Tengku, maybe in that statement of yours, lies one of UMNO's problematic and sadly, concretized, attitude - seeing and yet not seeing Indian Malaysians.

Have you heard of Makkal Sakti, and the cause of the seismic shock that brought about the political tsunami?

‘…Selangor … dominated by non-Malay DAP and non-Malays from PKR despite that the mentri besar … (being) … a Malay …’!!!

Sadly and disappointingly, he’s continuing his ethnocentric fear campaign, an UMNO’s modus operandi, no doubt to get to the top of UMNO.

He wrote in his letter: "We must find out why Chinese and Indian voters rejected MCA and MIC candidates. Why were incumbent Umno candidates defeated by PKR and PAS candidates? Otherwise at the next election, if we don't change our policies, culture and morale in BN and Umno - and change radically - BN and Umno will not rule again."

"PKR-DAP-PAS will form the federal government, the PM may be from PKR and the DPM may be from the DAP. And should BN still remain intact, it would become an opposition party which is weak and disunited. Umno will not be able to represent the voice of Malays again."

Frightening stuff isn’t it, something sure to rally all wannabe Hang Tuahs, the very unpleasant thought of a 'non Malay' DAP Chinese person as DPM? An unacceptable case of Melayu hilang meruah (Malays losing face)!

Ku Li, I deplore your ethnocentric campaigning. We don’t want that sort of Malaysia anymore, which has been why your subordinates MCA, MIC and (and someone you didn't mentioned) Gerakan lost.

I would have respected you if you had raised the real issues of corruption, cronyism, and crimes. Instead you are no different from AAB, in self denial of what had been wrong with an UMNO-led government. So do us a favour and retire gracefully.