Thursday, October 09, 2025

Party infighting driven by many leaders eyeing PM post, says Ku Li


FMT:

Party infighting driven by many leaders eyeing PM post, says Ku Li


5 hours ago
Minderjeet Kaur

The veteran Umno leader says many individuals see themselves as prime ministerial material, but lack concrete ideas or plans


Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says differences of opinion would exist even in a fully Islamic state. “Without balance, no party can succeed.”


KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has blamed the instability within political parties on leaders who see themselves as prime minister material but lack the vision required to lead the country.

In an interview with FMT, he said many leaders have their eye on the coveted top job, yet lack concrete ideas or actionable plans to govern Malaysia effectively.

“They don’t know what they want to do, and (may) mess things up. This is not a kacang putih seller’s (job), you know,” the former finance minister said, alluding to the complexities involved in leading the nation.

The Umno adviser said political instability had worsened in the nation as leaders were more focused on personal ambition rather than responsibility.

“Their ideology is often driven by ambition or hangers-on. But true leadership is about embracing everyone, both weak and strong, Malay and non-Malay.”


Tengku Razaleigh was commenting on recent infighting in Bersatu, which has seen party president Muhyiddin Yassin facing calls to step down and open attacks on secretary-general Azmin Ali.

Leadership requires balance, ‘extreme’ PAS or DAP will fail

Tengku Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, said a good leader must be able to exercise balance in leadership, especially when governing a multiethnic and multireligious country like Malaysia.

He credited Malaysia’s founding fathers with practising moderation, a key facet of national unity.

“We were fortunate to have leaders like Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman and Tun VT Sambanthan (among others), who were the right kind of people taking the right kind of approach.

“They did not take us to the extreme. Leaders like that were needed to remind us that this is a country we are going to share together.

“When you are put in a position of responsibility, you don’t only look after one group. You have to look after the whole country. That requires fairness and balance. Extreme views must be tapered down,” said the former 11-term Gua Musang MP.

Tengku Razaleigh said parties that adopt extreme positions would not be able to govern Malaysia.

“Even in a fully Islamic state (as envisioned by PAS), there would still be divisions in opinion. Without balance, no party can succeed whether it is PAS, DAP, or any other,” he said.

More recently, Tengku Razaleigh said he had noted unease among the Malays about the proposed Urban Renewal Act championed by housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming, from DAP.

He said the initiative was reminiscent of urban renewal efforts in Singapore that displaced Malay communities and stoked fears of a revival of DAP’s “Malaysian Malaysia” concept.

“The Malays (fear they) will be scattered, unable to return and priced out,” he said, leading to concerns that the proposed law will “undermine Malay rights”.


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