Ku Li claims Umno assembly no catalyst for reforms
(TMI) Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah yesterday shot down any chances of Umno reforming itself during its upcoming annual general assembly, amid his sudden popularity within the party recently.
The assembly, scheduled for October 19 to 23, is said to be crucial for Umno in light of the deaths of two lawmakers triggering by-elections in the Galas state seat and also the Batu Sapi federal seat.
Party insiders said that all eyes will be on the Gua Musan MP — a veteran politician who until recently was considered an outsider by his own party.
The Kelantan prince’s acceptance of the Barisan Nasional (BN) elections director post in Galas has earned him credit among Umno members, many of whom had in recent months disassociated themselves from him.
Playing down his role in the upcoming Galas by-election, however, Tengku Razaleigh went on to claim that no real reforms would be mapped out during the Umno assembly.
“It will be the same thing. There will be a lot of talk followed by a lot of laughter. I don’t think there will be a difference,” Tengku Razaleigh said yesterday.
The politician popularly known as Ku Li told The Malaysian Insider in an exclusive interview that Umno needed to change the way it was currently being perceived by Malaysians.
He said that Umno as a party needed to draw inspiration from the original Umno espoused by the late Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn.
“Umno under Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn was much admired and respected. Everyone wanted to associate themselves with Umno. Not just people who are in MCA or political parties, even those who are non-partisan.
“But today there’s a difference, it is as though there is feeling of distance, they feel that Umno is dirty, Umno is not alright, perhaps because there is too much labelling by opposition. Umno has been labelled as corrupt, arrogant, elitist, practising cronyism and abusing power.
“The problem is that the accusations have stuck, we have not managed to clean ourselves of these accusations,” said Tengku Razaleigh.
Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ku-li-claims-umno-assembly-no-catalyst-for-reforms/
