by Jema Khan
The Malaysian Insider
October 04, 2010
OCT 4 — The upcoming Galas state seat by-election is interesting on many fronts. It was a seat won by PAS in the last general election though Umno won the Gua Musang parliamentary seat which encompasses Galas.
By many accounts winning the Gua Musang parliamentary seat has nothing to do with Umno but more due to it being the stronghold of its long-standing MP, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Who is this man known colloquially as Ku Li?
Well, if you read “Malaysian Maverick” written by Barry Wain which is actually about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, you would know. Ku Li is an elder statesman in Malaysia who also, by many accounts, could have been PM of Malaysia.
A jovial, effervescent and decent man who has within him the institutional memory of this country, he really personifies all that was good in our founding fathers. Ask him about any of them, be it Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, you name it, he was there at the time and can still give you a decent recollection of what they stood for.
He has a very Malay way of putting his objections to all the bad things that are happening to our nation. See him on YouTube under Mycitizen and you will get a flavour of the man. Our founding fathers were the generation that really sacrificed their wealth and wellbeing for this country and their views would be very similar to that of Ku Li’s today.
In fact, the irony of it all is although Ku Li sacrificed so much personally for Umno, it is the opposition that today have a greater appreciation for his integrity and intellect. They accept him as an elder statesman that they would love to have on their side.
It is only with the advent of this by-election that Umno through Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is reaching out publicly to Ku Li. The lukewarm response of the Umno leadership to Ku Li is perhaps of the fear that he could challenge the leadership in the party.
Lest we forget, he only lost by 43 votes to Dr Mahathir in the contest for president of Umno in 1987.
The upcoming by-election is not simply a question of whether Umno wins or loses the seat. Many other questions will arise from it which will be of national significance.
Will the direction Umno takes after this be more in line with those of Ku Li? Will PAS go easy in the campaign as it does not want to alienate Ku Li? Will PAS want to close the door on any possible co-operation with Umno?
Could there be a major role for Ku Li either in the current government or in bettering the ties between the BN and Pakatan?
When it comes to Ku Li, I think he will follow his own calling as he has done all his life, sometimes to his own political detriment. A gentleman politician is rare in this country but something we desperately need today.
Perhaps he will not rise up any further in the political arena as he is unwilling to soil his reputation, but his beliefs and thinking will transcend today, far into the future.
Ku Li calls a spade a spade and has credibility and gravitas. It would be a shame if the political parties on both sides of the divide do not tap him for the betterment of the nation.
In any event I am sure that we will be hearing more of Ku Li soon and if we were all to put on our non-partisan hats, we could actually listen to and absorb the message.
It is society that needs to be positively affected and it is not only the political parties that can do it but the messenger has to have the credibility for the message to be believed.
#1 by Bigjoe on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 1:44 pm
It will be interesting to see Ku Li work this. The bigger picture is the Najib-Muhiyiddin rivalry. He is being pressured to make a choice If he does not chose, he will damage his own legacy as one who talks but not act. But making a choice now would mean he has to return to active politicking instead of just an elder gentleman AND he can end up on a losing side which will be damaging at this age.
How do he send a message to both sides not to make their problem his?
#2 by BoycottLocalPapers on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 1:53 pm
Ku Li deserves it. He should have joined Pakatan Rakyat long time ago but he didn’t. He was hoping that he could make a comeback in UMNO.
Wake up Kul Li! Abdullah Badawai who was one of your boys already became the PM while you are still dreaming of becoming the next PM of Malaysia. Muhyiddin will ensure that this will not happen.
Muhyiddin could be the guy behind this. Probably it was Mahathir Mohammad’s idea. I hope Mahathir will get well soon so that he will be trialed for corruption after the next general election.
#3 by sotong on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 2:19 pm
It’s too late…..unless he has the courage to speak from his heart!
#4 by k1980 on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 3:44 pm
Ku Li will become a coolie after the 13 GE
#5 by Jeffrey on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 3:46 pm
The quote “beware of Greeks bearing gifts” comes from the Trojan horse. To shut Ku Li up they offer him a chance at the Galas by-election. It’s like a Trojan Horse given by Greeks to Troy. Galas by-election seat is the “gift” to discredit him and his position by whichever course he takes.
Briefly, Ku Li’s position of late has been that transcendental of petty partisan politics. He speaks of national issues and criticizes his own party UMNO for failings. He does not join opposition because he says he is still loyal to UMNO – like an opposition within his own party, he wants to reform it for the better. He wants Kelantan to get higher percentage of royalty because it is fair.
As Ku Li has re-endeared himself to PAS by siding with the Kelantan government on the oil royalty issue, UMNO hopes PAS won’t go all out in Galas against Ku Li, and will hopefully lose. But if PAS still wins, then Ku Li is still discredited as failure to be unable to conduct a winning campaign.
If Ku Li accepts the lead on Galas, does it mean that UMNO will concede to give Kelantan higher royalty as demanded by Ku Li and PAS? If it does, PAS certainly will not mind to concede one seat for the royalty largesse but the reality is that this is most unlikely.
Ku Li is neither a member of cabinet nor a member of Umno Supreme Council. He is disconnected from both government and Umno’s administration. They can say that policies decided at top government and UMNO’s top level that the royalty would not be revised upwards for Kelantan.
If Ku Li imposes a pre-condition on royalty being conceded by UMNO for him to take on the challenge, and has to decline Galas on grounds that UMNO does not agree, then it ill be said of Ku Li that he has zero credibility in what he says about being loyal to UMNO and reforming it when he does not even dare accept the offer of Galas.
If Ku Li tries to avert this charge by leading the Galas campaign without having in hand the royalty, which PAS’s candidate will be demanding, then Ku Li will be pitched against PAS on the very issue of Kelantan royalty and be made as if he reneges and contradicts his own stand against what PAS’s demands for – the increased royalty – for the sake of position.
How will Ku Li manoeuvre? He has literally married himself to the Kelantan Royalty issue. It has become an inextricable part of his political credibility. If UMNO does not agree to concede on this issue as a condition for taking on Galasi, the better course is for Ku Li to decline the offer.
#6 by digard on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 4:20 pm
No, Bigjoe, no. He would really be a disappointment if he settled with either side of the rivalry. He’d betray his own words if he did.
Yes, he should have joined PR(PKR) a long time ago. But he didn’t feel like; and the de-facto boss there also is not too keen on that. As much as we hate to concede this, but there is too much of UMNO still in the man, maybe more than in Ku Li. One slaps his face every morning that he has not yet been appointed PM of Malaysia, while the other looks in the mirror, worried about the state of the nation.
We not only have the wrong brother in the PM seat, we also have the wrong candidate to follow him up. Ku Li doesn’t want to fight Anwar, and Anwar is not going away. So far to that perspective.
Jeffrey is correct with the other perspective. Ku Li is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. I fear, the UMNO top wants to finish him off; the famous ‘gifts’. So I’m curious what he will decide. The trap is set. Ether snatching a seat for the corrupt ruling elite from PAS; or demonstrating one’s uselessness by failing to do so. Somehow, I am afraid, this is also what Ku Li deserves for his indecisiveness, always speaking up for the right thing, but always refusing to let action follow the well-minced words.
Interesting times.
#7 by boh-liao on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 5:20 pm
LOL, is he going into d mousetrap?
If not, he shld go 2 d West End of London 2 C d longest continuously running play in d world: The Mousetrap!
#8 by habis on Monday, 4 October 2010 - 10:31 pm
This is just an UMNO ploy to trap Ku Li putting him in a most uncomfortable position to silence him off should he contest and lose in the by election.I hope Ku Li will not be trapped and reject the UMNO brokes who wants him to stand for the election.