Ku Li does not speak for Umno … he speaks for Malaysia – The Malaysian Insider
“With each violation the sense of decency and restraint and the habits that bind us to the Constitution are loosened. The confidence in the rule of law that makes civilised life possible is diminished."
The Malaysian Insider
With each passing day, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s views on politics, governance and the Federal Constitution seem to getting more distant than those held by many of his comrades in Umno.
He believes that Umno should offer an umbrella of protection to all Malaysians. His party men believe they are there to protect only Malay interests.
He believes that every member of the ruling party should have a say on who leads the party and Malaysia. His party still allows 2,000 men and women of its 3 million members to elect the party president.
Even on the political crisis in Perak, there is a gaping divergence.
Ku Li, as he is fondly known, believes that Umno/Barisan Nasional will pay the price for the manner in which it obtained power in the state.
This view is in sharp contrast to the opinion of many in Umno. The consensus in Umno is that if Pakatan Rakyat is feeling aggrieved and upset at the manner control of the state was wrested away from them by Barisan Nasional last month, then blame should assigned to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
It was the Opposition icon who set off the topsy-turvy chain of events when he allowed Bota assemblymen Datuk Nasharuddin Hashim to cross over from Umno to PKR. By encouraging Nasharuddin, Anwar unleashed forces in Umno who were previously reluctant to use their whole arsenal of weapons to force defections from the Opposition.
So today if V. Sivakumar and the Pakatan Rakyat are smarting after being outflanked and outmuscled, they should blame Anwar. In a nutshell, this is the Umno view.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah sees things differently. The villain of the piece is the BN. Its questionable takeover of the state government has left Perak without a legitimate government.
“One of our most prosperous states has been reduced to a failed state. One lie leads to many lies. Each bad action leads to a cascade of follies. Particularly when the lie or violation concerns something very basic. This is a principle we teach our children. It is a simple but universal truth now being demonstrated in Perak.
“With each violation the sense of decency and restraint and the habits that bind us to the Constitution are loosened. The confidence in the rule of law that makes civilised life possible is diminished.
“Laws are invisible things. They are exist only when they are understood and observed. When the government of the day ignores foundational principles such as the separation of powers, the Constitution becomes a dead piece of paper.
“But the Constitution is not just any law. It is the set of laws that founds our nation, defines its basic principles, guarantees our individual rights and prescribes the structures, duties, and powers which make a national community possible. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Malaysia.
“Those who so blithely ignore the Constitution for political ends are, quite literally, wrecking the foundations of this country to further their own interests,” he said on his blog.
His views will be dismissed as the rant of a peripheral political player; comments by a politician who wanted the top prize in Umno and the country but never quite made the base camp.
Umno members will paint him as someone who has lost touch with the psyche of the party.
They are right. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah stopped speaking for Umno long time ago.
He is merely reflecting the sentiment of many Malaysians. On the breakdown of the institutions. On the power grab in Perak. On the direction which Malaysia seems to be heading.
