– Ku Li claims Umno assembly no catalyst for reforms
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah yesterday shot down any chances of Umno reforming itself during its upcoming annual general assembly, amid his sudden popularity within the party recently.
The assembly, scheduled for October 19 to 23, is said to be crucial for Umno in light of the deaths of two lawmakers triggering by-elections in the Galas state seat and also the Batu Sapi federal seat.
Party insiders said that all eyes will be on the Gua Musang MP — a veteran politician who until recently was considered an outsider by his own party.
The Kelantan prince’s acceptance of the Barisan Nasional (BN) elections director post in Galas has earned him credit among Umno members, many of whom had in recent months disassociated themselves from him.
Playing down his role in the upcoming Galas by-election, however, Tengku Razaleigh went on to claim that no real reforms would be mapped out during the Umno assembly.
“It will be the same thing. There will be a lot of talk followed by a lot of laughter. I don’t think there will be a difference,” Tengku Razaleigh said yesterday.
The politician popularly known as Ku Li told The Malaysian Insider in an exclusive interview that Umno needed to change the way it was currently being perceived by Malaysians.
He said that Umno as a party needed to draw inspiration from the original Umno espoused by the late Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn.
“Umno under Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn was much admired and respected. Everyone wanted to associate themselves with Umno. Not just people who are in MCA or political parties, even those who are non-partisan.
“But today there’s a difference, it is as though there is feeling of distance, they feel that Umno is dirty, Umno is not alright, perhaps because there is too much labelling by opposition. Umno has been labelled as corrupt, arrogant, elitist, practising cronyism and abusing power.
“The problem is that the accusations have stuck, we have not managed to clean ourselves of these accusations,” said Tengku Razaleigh.
The Kelantan prince has been critical of Umno’s party constitution, citing an intense dissatisfaction with how party leaders were elected into the top posts of the party.
In 2004, Tengku Razaleigh suggested the now ignored “one member, one vote” method to select Umno’s highest posts — from the president to the rest of the supreme council.
He had claimed that the method would reduce vote-buying as it would be more difficult to buy off the votes of the party’s 3.2 million members than those of 3,000 delegates.
Ku Li had also previously pushed for the party to have open and direct elections for all its members.
“I have offered my proposals, there must be a complete reform. Structurally, Umno must reform and amend its constitution to make it more open.
“Umno has to also allow more young people in so that there would be continuity, also the struggle should be based on the original Umno — fairness and justice, not become so inward looking,” the former Cabinet minister told The Malaysian Insider.
The 73-year-old politician was mum, however, on whether he would contest for any posts at the next Umno party elections, scheduled to be held next year.
“My future in Umno? I don’t know about that, let’s see… I’m old already. What political revival is there for me? I don’t think that far.
“If they need my expertise, they would have elected me. (But) they won’t elect me,” he said.
Tengku Razaleigh also stressed that he would continue to push for the amendments to the party’s constitution, specifically on membership rules as well as term limits for party president and supreme council members.
“I seriously believe Umno could and should reform. If Umno could be a beacon before and after independence, why can’t it reform itself like the way it used to be? Why should it be saddled by these labels which are unwarranted?
“Umno as well as other BN component parties can retain their ethnic-based rules but there is a need for BN to become a mass-based party which is open to everybody,” added Tengku Razaleigh.
