Ku Li seen as the ‘light after the darkest hour’

Aspan Alias says even the opposition seems to acknowledge the Kelantan prince's credentials.

PETALING JAYA: It’s remarkable that for the first time in Malaysia’s political history, prominent leaders of the opposition have indicated a clear willingness to accept someone from Umno as the nation’s leader, political analyst Aspan Alias has observed.

In a blog posting that reiterates his support for Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah as the person most suitable to take over the Prime Minister’s post, Aspan says the endorsement of the Kelantan prince by the likes of Lim Kit Siang of DAP and Rafizi Ramli of PKR shows that they are among those who are realistic enough to acknowledge that what the nation needs is “a wise Malay leader who is capable of delivering national unity based on the Malay perspective”.

What this “simply means”, he adds, is that the opposition’s distaste is not for Umno itself, but for its leadership.

Aspan regards the current political turmoil in the country as a blessing.

“Nothing good can come before we go through the mills of evil,” he says. “When great evils occur, great good will soon follow. The darker the night, the nearer we are to the dawn. We are drawing close to the dawn and will soon experience a new light of hope and optimism.”

This “new light”, according to him, is personified in Razaleigh.

“We have already heard suggestions by certain quarters of the need for a leader with the judiciousness and benevolence to bring all disputing groups together to live in co-existence and mutual respect for the purpose of achieving our ultimate goal, which is national unity,” Aspan writes.

“For the first time ever in fifty-eight years of independence, some opposition leaders are voicing their positive judgement of an Umno member.

“They name Tengku Razaleigh as the most suitable choice for Prime Minister as he has had the sterling record of contribution to national politics and nation building while he was in the government before he was systematically sidelined by some Umno leaders in the late seventies and the early eighties.”

Aspan is confident that many will agree with him if they “take the pain to exercise some soul-searching”.

He says Razaleigh, being a Malay and “a perfect gentleman”, is the most practical choice Malaysians now have for a Prime Minister.