Ku Li and the nature of the Amanah beast

Malaysia's latest NGO, Angkatan Amanah Merdeka, was launched with a noticeable lack of fanfare last week. Amanah aims to rekindle the multi-racial spirit that was fought for by first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who envisioned a truly united and multi-racial Malaysia.

The founder is UMNO veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who hinted that Amanah could possibly be the catalyst to a rising Third Force in the country's political, socio and economic landscape. He called on the silent majority to voice their discontent against “rife corruption, cronyism and racial crisis,” besides ensuring that politics in the country “strictly observe and respect” the country’s federal constitution.

Other prominent members include former Sarawak deputy chief minister Daniel Tajem, former tourism minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir and former MCA president Ong Tee Keat.

Wealth of talent in Pakatan - equal and surpassing Ku Li's

Razaleigh has also been touted as the best candidate to lead the country next to Opposition Leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. And this itself has sparked great suspicion amongst Pakatan circles.

While Anwar is still the glue that binds Pakatan, PAS president Hadi Awang, Spiritual Adviser Nik Aziz, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and chairman Karpal Singh are also extremely capable men in their own right and have contributed enormously to Malaysia. Certainly no less than Razaleigh. Why would and why should Pakatan need a 'front-man'? Who is selling this idea and what is their motive?

These are questions that must be asked, and Ku Li should answer or he will be seen as an opportunist usurper out to ride on the Pakatan's resurgence. There is also suspicion he is backed by shadowy forces in UMNO. No prizes for guessing correctly who is the most suspected 'backer' - yes, it is former premier Mahathir Mohamad!

There are also 'counter-rumours' that Ku Li has been approached by opposition leaders and offered the Prime Minister’s position should there be a hung Parliament after the election. If so, Amanah could be a convenient ‘political vehicle’ in anticipation of the next general election, so the spin masters go.

But the argument remains - why would Pakatan with its wealth of talent turn to Razaleigh. Can anyone imagine PAS allowing Hadi Awang or Nik Aziz to step aside in the event that Anwar is imprisioned on trumped-up sodomy charges?

Bargaining chip

It is more likely that Amanah is Ku Li's bargaining chip to get into Pakatan. At this point in time, without further evidence, it is high unlikely that he is backed by Mahathir either. Most high-level Pakatan leaders believe Ku Li is now acting on his own, gathering forces still faithful to him in a last-ditch bid to be PM.

Pakatan has kept fairly quiet on the matter and so has UMNO, as they try to decipher Ku Li's true motives. Sad to say, the 74-year old Kelantan prince is a spent force, strong only withing his Gua Musand district. He is even ignored in top UMNO circles despite the sheer dearth of talent and Ku Li - to be fair - is a man of much higher calibre than most of the UMNO elite.

It is impossible to believe that Mahathir and Ku Li - who are both men of stubborn pride - could ever reconcile. The fact is and will always rankle - Mahathir cheated Ku Li of the UMNO presidency in the 80s.

So far, the only one who has made noise is Kita's Zaid Ibrahim, a former UMNO Senator who was once fairly popular for his liberal views. This is understandable given that Ku Li's sudden emergence will only compound and quicken Zaid's irrelevance. Between the two men, Ku Li has the much better track record.

In launching Amanah, Tengku Razeleigh signalled his readiness and willingness to offer leadership to speak out against the assault on fair and free elections for a clean and fair government; to speak out against the endemic corruption that has engulfed the country; to speak out against the assault on the judiciary this has caused public distrust and helplessness and the divisiveness of the people due to opportunistic racism.

Razaleigh also made a statement that Bersih's demand for a 21-day campaign period for the general election was reasonable as the current 7-days was too short and one-sided, given that Pakatan is not allowed to appear on radio and television.

Ironical, when Bersih came up with its demands for free and fair elections, which led to the giovernment crackdown, hardly any of the current Amanah leaders protested or spoke up for Bersih.

Third Force or a vehicle to the PM's seat

Indeed there are many out there who remain unconvinced about Ku Li, Amanah and their purported aim to be a Third Force in the Malaysian political, socio-economic landscape.

Firstly, a Third Force that has any trace of political lineage is automatically suspect. The usual purpose for such an entity is to split the vote and then offer itself to the highest bidder - BN or Pakatan?

Pundits argue, why allow another force to derail the existing agenda to consolidate a two-party system. Or if neither BN or Pakatan are palatable, and should they wish to contest on their own platform, they should be upfront about it rather than lie about their intentions by hiding being the mask of being an NGO.

So if Amanah refuses to comes out of hiding and declares it is with BN or Pakatan or on its won as a political force, then it should stay strictly a civil movement and avoid political activities and comments.Why should it be a force in the political arena when it is not a political player?

If Ku Li wants to be respected again, he should take a leaf from the exemplary behavour of Bersih's Ambiga Sreenevasan, who has won immense respect because she has made it clear what her motives are, and to prove her sincerity, she has ruled out seeking high political office for herself.

Can Ku Li really claim the same? If right now, the UMNO Supreme Council were to sack Prime Minister Najib Razak and offer the post to Ku Li, would he say no? In other words, Ku Li's end motive is to be a political leader still. In which case, he should choose - no two ways about it. Stick with UMNO by all means or leave it. Don't be a coward and straddle all sides.

It is exactly this lack of courage to burn his bridges that has dealt a fatal blow to Ku Li's credibility. Like Najib, Ku Li has faded further from the nexus of power since the UMNO general election of 2008. The person who has come to the fore is Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib's deputy.

Ku Li should really practise the new politics and transparency that he preaches and declare his true intentions. If these are political at the core, then stop hiding behind the mask of civil society movement. To do so would be no different from say, Najib's touted hypocrisy and sham 1Malaysia. Surely, Ku Li can do much better than that!

- Malaysia Chronicle