Ku Li's agenda to retain Malay support for Umno

KUALA LUMPUR: If he wins the bid for the post of Umno president during the elections on June 30, the first agenda Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (pix) will undertake would be to retain Malay support for the party.
The 81-year-old Umno veteran also plans to study the need to amend the party's constitution so that Umno would be stronger to fight for the Malays more effectively.
"The way we move now does not allow us to act properly and effectively. A division has hundreds of branches, if in Sabah, there would be 400 to 500 branches ... some branches were started merely to fight for positions in the division.
"There are many things which were started just for money ... because people want contracts and sub-contracts. That is not the basis of our struggle, we have to look at all that," he said in the question-and-answer session at a gathering with Federal Territory Umno leaders and representatives held at his home here yesterday.
Other than Tengku Razaleigh, Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin, the vice-president who is carrying out the duties of the president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Bandar Tun Razak Umno division member Mohamed Iqbal Maricair and Iskandar Puteri Umno division member Mohd Yusof Musa@Jamaluddin, have been confirmed to be contesting for the party's number one post.
Tengku Razaleigh, who was former Finance Minister from 1976 until 1984, said he would look at reviving the economy and standard of living of the people which he said was not on par with national development.
"What is important is for us to prioritise the economy. We do not want people to struggle, to eke a living. We should not go back to the economy of yesteryears. Today, the people's income is high, but the price of goods is also high," he said.
The Gua Musang Umno division chief also said he accepted the claim that Kelantan Umno did not support his nomination as party president as reported in a news portal recently.
He said these voices would revive democracy within the party.
"Previously, we were shy and afraid to voice our opinions because they were blocked by our leadership. We must be honest. True, there are Kelantan Umno leaders who are not supporting me, but we have not heard from the other members," he said.
In a separate development, Tengku Razaleigh said no specific topic has been set for the Umno Presidential Debate programme scheduled at 9.30pm on June 29, on Astro Awani.
So far, only Khairy has agreed to participate in the programme.
On Ahmad Zahid's refusal to join the programme, Tengku Razaleigh said: "If he is free, he should come". — Bernama