Ku Li blamed Dr M for losing Kelantan in 1990, says state Umno

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has blamed Dr Mahathir Mohamad for BN losing Kelantan in the 1990 general election, according to the state Umno.

Kelantan Umno deputy liaison chief Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub said Tengku Razaleigh made the admission during a meeting with the state Umno, which was also attended by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, in Kuala Lumpur last week.

Tengku Razaleigh, who is better known as Ku Li, is the MP for Gua Musang in Kelantan.

During the meeting, Ahmad Jazlan said he raised the issue of Kelantan's fate and Mahathir, saying that it was because of the latter that the state fell to PAS in 1990.

“This is because he (Mahathir) clearly does not respect friends and those who struggled with him. He only thinks of his personal interests,” he told the media last night.

The Machang MP said Tengku Razaleigh had agreed with him.

“Yes, Tengku (Razaleigh) agreed that the person responsible for Kelantan BN's defeat was Mahathir, directly or indirectly.

“Mahathir has committed a sin against Kelantan Umno,” he said.

In the 1990 election, Tengku Razaleigh was leading the Umno splinter party Semangat 46, which was formed during the crisis which erupted following his narrow defeat to Mahathir in the Umno presidential contest two years earlier.

Semangat 46 had collaborated with PAS and managed to wrest control of Kelantan. The Islamist party has remained in power since.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Jazlan said during the meeting, which was held at Tengku Razaleigh's residence, the latter had pledged to assist BN in recapturing Kelantan in the coming general election.

“He has always been consistent on this issue and has stated that he would go all out (to campaign for Umno and BN) during the election.

“He is also willing to meet the people and tell them the truth, what Umno has done as well as the transgressions of the opposition,” he added.

Mahathir, who was Umno president for more than two decades, is now leading the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, which includes the PAS splinter party Harapan.- Mkini