Ku Li Fires Broadside
This commentary is written in reference to these articles.
It is now more than two weeks after our last general elections. Instead of the much ballyhooed implosion of the Barisan Rakyat, it would seem that our Barisan Nasional is the one imploding. Contrast the initial hiccough then settling into work that our previous “opposition” parties have demonstrated. Penang was a textbook case of how a transition was to have occured. Perak, after an initial speed bump, settled down to business, then Selangor has now settled on it’s executive council. Perlis, however was an embarassing backdown for the current administration and now we have Terengganu.
After the docile palaces that we had during the previous administration, we now have activist Sultans who hold the trust of their people and their devotion in their hands and are also politically savvy in their own right. I believe if push came to shove, the feudal mentality of the malay mind in these East Coast states would lean in favour of their Sultan.
Witness the harsh words our Kelantan Prince has for our current Prime Minister. “Stunning Ineptness.” “Perhaps we have forgotten what it is like to conduct ourselves with good manners and due respect for the constitution and the sovereignty of the ruler.” All I can say is Wow.
Ku Li in all his public statements has been the perfect Prince. Very polite, urbane, subtle. But it would seem that at this point, the gloves are off. Is he opportunistic? Is he too old? Our previous Prime Minister retired at 79.
Where opportunism is concerned, think about this…prior to this election, he was an elder statesman. Very well respected. But with no power base compared to the billions of RM that the government has at his disposal.
At his age – and it’s ALMOST 71 and not 74 as Joceline Tan of The Star claims (she obviously can’t count from his birthdate of 1937) – why would he want to take up the mantle of so odious a position as the President of a crumbling party? UMNO is facing the worst infighting of it’s life. It’s plagued with a value set which is not in keeping with what the electorate wants (this includes the Malays) and most of those in power still believe that they can continue with “business as usual.” Why would anyone in their right mind want to take on that mantle and have to rebuild from almost the bottom and change a mindset which is seen by most of the electorate as arrogant, and out of touch? Don’t forget; the popular vote was LOST in the Peninsula in large part due to UMNO Baru’s perceived arrogance.
To my mind, for what it’s worth, the man must believe that he has much to offer. And if we look at his track record, he does. The man who put together Petronas to wrest back our natural resources from the foreign powers, PERNAS, and Bank Bumiputra, could very easily rest on his laurels and be remembered as a great man. But instead he has chosen to do this seemingly madcap act of offering himself to lead the party he has defended all his life. Yes, even when he formed Semangat 46. Don’t forget, the UMNO that is in existence now is actually a DIFFERENT entity to the one that was formed in 1946. The “Baru” that was part of the present UMNO’s name was conveniently dropped after a few years of it’s registration after the last UMNO was declared illegal. And who joined Semangat 46 in the belief that Ku Li would defend the REAL UMNO? Tunku Abdul Rahman AND Tun Hussein Onn. Our Kelantan Prince had their trust. Is that worth something?
I believe that all Malaysians should be rooting for the man and remember that the alternative is our current Prime Minister OR worse. Think about it.
