‘WE REALLY SINCERELY APOLOGIZE’: KU LI SAYS SORRY FOR UMNO’S WRONGDOINGS BUT STOPS SHORT OF BLAMING NAJIB, BLAMES LOSING ‘PERCEPTION GAME’ INSTEAD

UMNO lost the game of perception, resulting in the party’s fall from power, said Tengku Razaleigh Tengku Hamzah.

The Umno veteran said cost-of-living issues and the goods and services tax were, without a doubt, the major reasons Pakatan Harapan was able to capture Putrajaya.

“To me, these are the main factors why the rakyat, in both urban and rural areas, were not in favour of us, didn’t support us.  

“Besides that, it’s a game of perception, which we lost,” said Tengku Razaleigh, also known as Ku Li, in a press conference today.

Unlike Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, Ku Li refused to go into detail when asked whether former party president Najib Razak and 1Malaysia Development Bhd were victims of the perception game.

“I’m not particularising on anything because people threw all sorts of banter at us during the elections.

“And, nothing was dominant. The only thing that was dominant, that was debated whether in town or rural areas, was the question of how do we make ends meet,”   he said, adding that Umno “obviously” did not handle the matter of perception well.

Khairy recently said all roads in Umno’s downfall in the 14th general election led back to the party’s decision not to confront Najib over 1MDB.

He had said the collective failure of party leaders and ministers to demand answers over the multibillion-ringgit financial scandal led to Umno and Barisan Nasional’s catastrophic defeat in the May 9 polls.

Ku Li said Umno accepts the GE14 loss, and offered an apology to Malaysians for the party’s mistakes.

“We apologise to the people for all our failings and mistakes. We really, sincerely apologise.

“If they think we have wronged them, we apologise as a party.”

He said though he does not speak on behalf of other BN components, he feels he ought to for Umno.

He said he believes that Umno will return as a strong opposition force after the party polls on June 30.

“We will make amends, and we will be reborn as a stronger organisation.”

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT