Ku Li seen leading Umno race as rivals either push too far or not at all
Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah appears to have taken the early lead in the contest for the presidency of Umno as Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has yet to start his campaign in earnest, while Khairy Jamaluddin has stepped into a minefield.
(MMO) – With just five more days left to sway the 146,000 or so delegates who will decide the party’s next leader and its future, the Kelantan prince commonly called Ku Li is criss-crossing the country in a bid to secure the support needed to take the presidency.
The party stalwart is considered an outsider in the race, having launched his bid seemingly alone, and was even snubbed by Zahid who neglected to invite his contender to a meet-the-candidates session organised for party members to familiarise themselves with the challengers.
Instead, Ku Li is working quietly to win over the party with a simple message: The need to rebuild the party and for Umno members to collectively decide their trajectory to recovery.
In short, he is proposing a bottom-up approach to a party that has long existed on top-down command and is finding traction with the message.
Zahid had been the early favourite to take the leadership position and was effectively gifted the incumbent’s advantage after Datuk Seri Najib Razak resigned and left the presidency in the former’s care.
However, the vice-president’s failure to decisively defuse the Perlis mentri besar crisis, which prompted Tambun Tulang representative Datuk Ismail Kassim to abandon Umno, allowed doubt to creep into delegates’ minds about his ability to command the party.
While the party has looked to Zahid for indications about his plans for Umno’s revival and to chart their return to power, the former deputy prime minister has done little in the area.
Exasperated remaining members, who have been awaiting words of encouragement to help spur the party along the road to recovery, have heard only a deafening silence from their presumable leader.
With each passing day, Zahid’s hold on the party grassroots grows increasingly tenuous while his personal popularity continues to decline among members starved of clear direction.
This was palpable in the delegates’ readiness to publicly appear alongside Ku Li at recent events, bucking their division leaders who are siding with Zahid.
The delegates were increasingly attending Ku Li’s familiarisation sessions in various states, appearing without their division leaders as well as committee members in seemingly open defiance.
The development suggests that Umno grassroots have grown impatient with Zahid, whom they had expected not only to lead the party but to corral the defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) that has effectively imploded in the wake of the 14th general election.
Shorn of clear leadership, BN components have abandoned the coalition in droves, leaving only Umno, MCA and MIC as the last remaining members of the 13-party political alliance.
As acting deputy president, most thought Zahid would naturally assume the leadership role, but he has fallen short in this regard compared to Ku Li or even outgoing Umno Youth chief Khairy.
With the federal Opposition leader role requiring gumption and eloquence, Zahid’s reservation in steering Umno has prompted doubts if he will be suited to the role.
