Former finance minister Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is emerging yet again as a viable candidate to take over from embattled Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said a veteran journalist.
According to the latest rumours, Tengku Razaleigh, or Ku Li, had been actively putting together a coalition of members of parliament (MP) from both sides of the political divide in the hopes of democratically ousting Najib, said Datuk A. Kadir Jasin, the former group editor-in-chief of New Straits Times.
In his latest blog post, Kadir said Ku Li emerged as the front runner among three candidates, the other two being Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“From the governing point of view, Ku Li is perhaps the best candidate to rescue the economy because, despite his shortcomings and missteps in the past, he is highly experienced and knowledgeable in economic matters,” he wrote on his blog, The Scribe.
“More than anything else, it is the economy that needs mending and Ku Li beats all other contenders in that aspect."
Kadir wrote that Ku Li's plan hinged on his ability to get the support of MPs of opposition parties PKR, DAP and PAS, who collectively hold 86 seats in the Dewan Rakyat as well as those from Barisan Nasiona.
“The opposition is badly fractured following the ouster of the non-religious faction from PAS. The clerical PAS may not be inclined to join Ku Li. But the PAS professionals, who now called themselves Gerakan Harapan Baru (New Hope Movement), may break rank and side with Ku Li.
“DAP and PKR are likely to be amenable to the idea of a unity government under Ku Li, provided one of their members is made the deputy prime minister,” Kadir wrote.
Ku Li would still need the support of at least 45 members of the BN to topple Najib, said Kadir, adding that he would need more support from the ruling coalition if PAS did not back him.
“If he succeeds, he stands out as the most likely successor to Najib and would introduce a whole new equation to contemporary Malaysian politics that is, the formation of a national unity government in which Umno could be in the minority.”
“Having sacked Muhyiddin for criticising him and for supporting the investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)... allowing Muhyiddin to become PM is as good as signing his own death warrant.”
The problem with handing over the reins to Zahid is that he is below Muhyiddin in the Umno hierarchy, said Kadir. In Umno’s leadership hierarchy, Zahid is a vice-president while Muhyiddin is deputy president.
- TMI
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