At 80, Ku Li says won’t contest next GE

(MMO) – After serving the Gua Musang parliamentary seat for 45 years, 80-year-old Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says he will not be contesting the next general election.

The former finance minister and an Umno veteran, who is fondly known as Ku Li, said he had informed the party about his decision many times in the past but the majority of members from his party’s division did not accept it.

“I cannot use a walking stick to the sky, I have been around for way too long… been a representative for 45 years and headed the Umno division for almost 60 years.

“I am also 80 years old, I can no longer bear the responsibility as a representative for the people. It is time that someone else replace me,” he was quoted as saying Utusan Malaysia today.

Tengku Razaleigh said he had also told his constituents about his decision to quit and not contest the 14th general elections prior to the previous elections.

“I have also told prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that I want to step down but the majority feels I shouldn’t as they are afraid that this constituency will fall into the hands of the opposition,” he was quoted as saying.

Elaborating further, he reportedly said that there was no reason for the parliamentary seat to fall to the opposition if there was enough support within members in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.