There is no peace in Umno, Ku Li says

Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah claimed that there is an ongoing internal division at the state and central levels of the party.

The Gua Musang MP was quoted by Sinar Online as saying that the situation has changed because at the time former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was in power, there were 13 parties supporting Umno’s leadership.

“Ahmad Zahid (Hamidi) took over after Umno lost. We lost not only at the central level but in every state except Perlis and Pahang.

"There are divisions within Umno in the states and at the central level. There is no peace, until now there is no peace.

“There are people who want to be divisive but that's politics," he said.

On Sept 11, BN chairperson Zahid reportedly said that he would purge Umno of its “internal enemies”.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

"We don't want foxes in chicken coops. Foxes need to be removed.

“And we don't want rat carcasses in our wells. The water in a well with rat carcasses cannot be consumed," said the Bagan Datuk MP.

Meanwhile, Razaleigh, also known as Ku Li, said that current issues including court cases involving Umno politicians had affected the rakyat’s support for the party.

"For that reason, we always appeal for solidarity so that no one can interfere with us.

“You have to be united. If you are divided or if one or two tell a different story, you will not be strong enough to fight the enemy.

"Umno's ‘lifespan’ depends on the rakyat. If the people still support us, Umno will continue to be upright, strong and powerful," said Razaleigh.

The former finance minister said this after the opening of the 24th Annual Representative General Meeting of the West Malaysian Malay Teachers' Union Cooperative (KGMMB) Berhad at the Grand River Hotel View in Kota Bharu yesterday.

‘Going solo’

In a related development, Razaleigh said he did not understand what is meant by Umno going solo, given that there are other component parties in BN.

“Previously, BN was defeated by Pakatan Harapan in the 2018 general election. At that time, there were 13 component parties in BN from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

"They have an alliance that brings out their respective strengths to help candidates compete under one logo - which is BN," he said.

BN leaders during the coalition’s convention in June

After GE14, the Sarawak and Sabah parties and Gerakan left BN, leaving the coalition established in 1973 to the three core parties Umno, MIC and MCA.

Earlier, Zahid and his deputy Mohamad Hasan had repeatedly stated the party's stance to go solo to win big, rejecting cooperation with PAS and Bersatu.

However, Mohamad, who is also BN’s election director, said that if the election results show otherwise, his party is ready to negotiate with others to establish a stable government.

Zahid explained that Umno made the decision to go solo because of PAS's behaviour and attitude.

"There is no need for us to be apologetic when PAS itself always plays safe by ‘having its fingers on multiple pies’," he said. - Mkini