Veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin said the “young” Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, better known as Ku Li, was the best choice to lead Umno in the new Malaysia.
“For me, an Umno leader who will most likely effect change is Tengku Razaleigh, the Gua Musang MP and a former Umno vice-president.
“At 81 years old, he is young. If Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is 10 years his senior, can lead Pakatan Harapan to victory and become the prime minister for the second time, what is wrong with Ku Li leading Umno,” Kadir said in a blog posting today.
He believes that not only is this Ku Li’s best chance at leading Umno, he does not see any other choice with regards to who can heal the party and become an opposition leader of calibre.
“Other than Mahathir, there is no one else other than Ku Li who is more experienced in the Dewan Rakyat and he is among those who knows the current prime minister the longest,” he said.
It is not that he wants to interfere in the affairs of his former party, added Kadi, but there was a need for a strong opposition in Parliament.
“I say strong because Umno with only 55 seats cannot be a strong opposition in terms of numbers but they can still be an opposition with a strong mental fortitude,” he said.
Currently, the only serious challenger for the Umno president's position is its acting president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The other person running for the position is businessperson cum blogger Rahmat Azim Abdul Aziz.
Ku Li, meanwhile, has yet to decide on whether to run for party president. Nominations for top party posts will close tomorrow for party polls on June 30.
There has been talk that Ku Li may be named as parliamentary opposition leader while Zahid should be left to helm the party.
Razaleigh is expected to hold a press conference later today, possibly to address his stand with regards to the stricken party. - Mkini
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