Ku Li resurfacing to lead ‘third force’?
Insiders claim that some of BN’s Sabah and Sarawak MPs who are in Kuala Lumpur wanted to explore “possibilities” of a positive change for both East and West Malaysia’s politrical landscape.
Calvin Cabaron, FMT
The alleged recent meeting between several MPs from East Malaysia and Umno veteran leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has rekindled rumours of uncertainty within Umno in Peninsular Malaysia is still fluid.
Old speculations about Ku Li and a ‘third force’ have resurfaced.
The thinking here is that if at least 25 MPs from Barisan Nasional in Sabah and Sarawak leave the ruling party and teamed up with say 10 disgruntled BN MPs from Peninsular, they would be able to change the political equation.
The grapevine in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching are tossing up probabilities that “change” could happen in the next few days.
Political blogs and news portals have picked up on these rumours and riding on the alleged meeting between Ku Li and the MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, are spewing fresh scenarios.
Insiders claiming to be in the know said that some Sabah and Sarawak BN MPs who are already in Kuala Lumpur wanted to explore “possibilities” of an alternative plan that would have a positive change for both East and West Malaysia’s landscape.
“They are mulling the idea of getting Ku Li as Prime Minister for at least two years and see if he could unite the nation, minus Umno, but without succumbing to Anwarism .
“They are talking about a more sober personality to lead the country out of a stagnated democracy,” said one local leader in Kota Kinabalu who described those in the group as politically adventurous but not ‘big’ risk-taker.
According to the rumours going round here, the “hands engineering the change” want Ku Li to get at least 10 MPs from Peninsular out of BN.
These MPs will then team-up with about 25 or 28 MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to ensure BN loses its majority.
BN currently controls 133 of the 222-seats in Parliament while opposition Pakatan Rakyat holds the remaining 89 seats. BN controls 47 of the 57 MP seats in East Malaysia, including one in Labuan.
Their calculation is that if 35 MPs opt out of BN and throw their support behind Pakatan then BN’s 133 seats would be reduced to only 98 and Pakatan which has 89 seats will gain from the shift in allegiance and now have 124. This would be enough for Pakatan to “form” a new federal government.
