Save trip to airport unless agree with Ku Li on oil, federalism

Malaysia Chronicle

PAS leaders have slammed Umno for its “hypocritical ways” on news that Umno Cabinets ministers were planning to form an entourage to greet Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah when he returns from abroad on this weekend.

“There is nothing wrong if Umno wants to do the works and send a kompang team or two but one of the first questions Ku Li will surely ask is, has the federal government agreed to pay Kelantan proper oil royalties and not wang ehsan or compassionate fund,” PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Then, surely Ku Li will also want to know whether the federal government has taken note of his views on federalism and how the states should be given back their rightful autonomy. If Umno, as the ruling party, does not have these answers for Ku Li, it might be wasting its time going to the airport. People will say Umno is being hypocritical – it wants Ku Li’s help in Galas but doesn’t want to respect his views.”

Umno piles pressure on Ku Li

Despite being an Umno veteran and the former Finance minister who founded national oil firm Petronas, Tengku Razaleigh or Ku Li as he is better known, has an independent mind. In fact, he has been a thorn in Umno’s flesh with his frank criticism of the Najib administration especially in the way it interpreted the payment of oil royalties to its advantage.

The Kelantan government has already filed a lawsuit against Petronas for non-payment oil royalties and Ku Li has offered to be a witness for the state government.

Nonetheless, Umno leaders including Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin have rushed to solicit his help in the upcoming Galas by-election. They have even proposed him as the BN candidate for the state seat, while Prime Minister Najib Razak has been reported as having already signed a letter of appointment making Ku Li the by-election director.

Siti Mariah

“Umno is desperate. Their leaders have announced so many times that Ku Li has accepted their appointment to lead Galas. They are trying to pressure Ku Li into saying ‘yes’ but he has snubbed them so many times. There may be another big one coming soon and Umno would really be asking for it because they never heed his advice even though he is now probably the longest-serving Umno MP," PAS MP for Kota Raja Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud told Malaysia Chronicle.

"It seems quite thick-skinned of them but Ku Li is also a grassroots loyalist and he may consider the election director post for the grassroots' sake even though he doesn’t see eye to eye with many of the leaders."

Orang Asli candidate

The Galas state seat fell vacant following the death of PAS assemblyman Chek Hashim Sulaima last month. It is part of the Ku Li’s Gua Musang parliamentary stronghold, one of the few Umno fortresses in PAS-dominated Kelantan.

Mahfuz

Chek Hashima wrested the seat from Umno in 2008 by a narrow 646-vote majority, securing 4,399 votes against Umno's 3,753 votes. According to the last electoral roll, there are 10,330 voters in the constituency, with 65.4% Malays, 22.3% Chinese, 10.5% Orang Asli and 1.8% India

Pundits say the Chinese and Orang Asli voters may ultimately decide the winner. In the past election, the Chinese had mostly voted for PAS, while the Orang Asli voted Umno.

Kelantan senior executive councillor Husam Musa has said it was possible that PAS might field an Orang Asli candidate. Nomination for the Galas by-election falls on October 26, while balloting is on November 4.

"Why not, they have shown an interest in politics, it is only a matter of time before they join the fray as election candidates,” Husam told reporters on Wednesday.