Ku Li aiming to be DPM, says RPK

The blogger cites Anwar Ibrahim's letter to PKR leaders to back his allegation.

PETALING JAYA: Has Anwar Ibrahim accused Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah of trying to position himself for the post of Deputy Prime Minister?

This is what blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has implied in an article he posted on his Malaysia Today blog recently.

He also implied that Anwar fingered Tengku Razaleigh as one of six people with the title of “Tan Sri” involved in a failed plot to oust Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The Manchester-based blogger reminded his readers of an article he posted last year in which he said the six were trying to oust Najib through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

In his latest article on the subject, he noted that Tengku Razaleigh had denied being part of any conspiracy to remove Najib, but he pointed to the following paragraphs in Anwar’s recent letter to PKR leaders, in which the Gua Musang MP is referred to as Ku Li:

“My stand is the same as when there was the initiative by Ku Li to collect signed statutory declarations. This initiative is now buried.

“And in our eagerness or desperation to affect leadership change, we gave our commitment. It has now become a mockery and an embarrassment, particularly when Ku Li himself has denied being ever involved and deemed it farcical. He mischievously exploited it to place himself as the ‘compromise candidate’ in the event of a stalemate between Zahid and Hisham (Umno vice-presidents Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Hishammuddin Hussein). I’m baffled why some of us in Pakatan Harapan continue to harbour hopes of ‘change’ through such trickery.”

Raja Petra alleged that Tengku Razaleigh embarked on a plan to become Deputy Prime Minister after failing to bring about the no-confidence motion. He said this meant that he had to get into the Cabinet as a minister to position himself as an alternative DPM in the event of a clash between Zahid and Hishammuddin.

“If that happens, then Najib may be forced to discard both vice-presidents and choose a third alternative or outsider instead as a compromise,” he said, adding that the other vice-president, Shafie Apdal, did not factor in because he was in political limbo.

He claimed that Tengku Razaleigh was working closely with someone in Najib’s inner circle, and that person was supposed to persuade the Prime Minister to appoint the Gua Musang MP as minister and then DPM.

He said this was why Tengku Razaleigh recently asked for the declassification of the 1MDB report. “Ku Li is hoping that Najib will try to appease him and stop him pushing the 1MDB issue by appointing him to the Cabinet,” he said.

He also alleged that Tengku Razaleigh was aiming to be the new Finance Minister as compensation for not getting appointed as the Petronas Advisor.

“The million-dollar question is why would Ku Li even think that there is going to be a clash between Zahid and Hishammuddin? Are they up to something to make sure that the clash happens?”