Without Umno, Ku Li’s bipartisan group no threat to PAS, say analysts

 

Reports say Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will lead the ‘bipartisan’ group Angkatan Amanah Merdeka Rakyat Kelantan.

PETALING JAYA: Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s “bipartisan” group will only be a “real threat” to PAS in Kelantan if it has Umno’s backing, say analysts.

“If it’s just Tengku Razaleigh on his own, then PAS won’t have much to worry about,” Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara told FMT on the formation of a group called Angkatan Amanah Merdeka Rakyat Kelantan.

He said if Umno joined forces with the group it would have a better shot at toppling PAS than if it took on the ruling party by itself.

“Tunku Razaleigh has a huge influence in Kelantan. So if he can convince Umno to work with Amanah just in Kelantan, then this group is going to be very influential not only in civil society but also politically,” he said.

Last Thursday, it was reported that Tengku Razaleigh, better known as Ku Li, would lead the group. It would be open to not only political parties but NGOs as well. This followed a meeting between Tengku Razaleigh and Kelantan Amanah leaders after a recent buka puasa gathering.

University of Tasmania’s James Chin is far less optimistic about the group’s chances in unseating PAS in Kelantan, describing it only as “a platform for Tengku Razaleigh to regain his influence”.

“Although he remains influential in Gua Musang, he has lost most of his influence in Kelantan as a whole. Most people would regard his time as past,” he told FMT.

“I don’t see anybody overthrowing PAS, but if it were to be overthrown, it would have to be done by Umno and nobody else.”

Chin said that Umno, however, would not be able to appeal to Kelantan voters as it did not have the “right candidates”.

“Umno has always had problems finding the right sort of candidates or leaders to appeal to the Kelantanese people,” he said, adding that Kelantanese political culture was different from that of other states.

Anantha Raman Govindasamy of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) shared similar views, saying any new coalition formed would not be able to make waves in Kelantan’s political landscape during GE15.

He also said that Amanah, being a splinter group of PAS, still had a long way to go to gain the support of the Kelantanese. - FMT