YOURSAY | Not the best choice but compared to Zahid and Hishammuddin, he is streets ahead.

Untainted by scandals, support pours in for 'clean' Ku Li to revive Umno

New Hope: Nominating someone who once claimed that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak could take Malaysia to greater heights means one of two things.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is either a survivor and will do whatever it takes to stay alive, or he is out of touch with reality. Either way, he is exactly the kind of leader Umno deserves.

Anonymous_d395a08d: It would truly be a great irony if Razaleigh were to become Umno president. He came close to toppling then-president Dr Mahathir Mohamad in late 1980s.

It was Najib's defection to the Mahathir camp at the last hour that prevented him from becoming the fifth prime minister.

Thirty years have passed, but the Malaysian political scene is still occupied by the same characters, except they have all swapped roles.

With Pakatan Harapan in government now, I hope Mahathir can finally put history to rest and create a healthier, more inclusive politics.

New Horizon: Not really the best choice but compared to acting president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and acting deputy Hishammuddin Hussein, he is streets ahead.

This man, unfortunately, is always indecisive, always waiting to be crowned king instead of making a stand and fighting for it.

If he had been more decisive and determined, he could have become prime minister when the opportunities provided themselves in the past.

Lodestar: Why not? Since they have already sacked all those with courage and integrity, this old horse is all they have got left, so might as well trot him out.

Razaleigh seems like he has integrity but not courage. If he had both, he would already be working on the side of Harapan.

Panorama123: With all due respect, based on all the statements and actions coming out of Umno even after GE14, I doubt they are in a position to reform.

They need serious ‘process re-engineering’ coupled with the selection of new faces with untainted background and high calibre individuals – not easy to come by, looking at their members at this juncture – to revive the party.

It will take a long gestation period for Umno to recover, certainly beyond the 15th general election in 2023.

All in, Umno that have not spoken up on 1MDB are complicit and tainted.

Bfairall: What a waste of time. There is nothing great about Umno, and nothing great about Razaleigh.

Umno is a rotten party without any values and integrity. Umno will only be respected when the party gets rid of the image of arrogance, money-mindedness, selfishness and disregard for the other ethnic groups in this country.

Razaleigh, meanwhile, did nothing to check on Najib’s reign of terror. Why is he popping up his head now? It’s best for him to retire.

He has nothing to contribute to Umno, in terms of making it a viable party, and more importantly, nothing to contribute to the country.

Malaysian-United: Razaleigh wouldn’t even be able to lead the boy scouts, for crying out loud. Simply being ‘clean’ – whatever that means – is not the only quality you need to run the Umno mob.

You not only need to be smart, you have to be hard as nails, plus have a healthy appetite for money politics which is entrenched in the party’s DNA.

Unfortunately for Razaleigh, he is bean curd going up against bloodthirsty wolves. Good luck to him.

Ahead of party polls, Ku Li invites Umno MPs for buka puasa

Clever Voter: The trouble with Razaleigh is that he has no leadership qualities expected of a prime minister. Many regard him as a ‘Nato’ – ‘no action, talk only’ – while equally, some regard him as an ostrich, hiding his head in the sand.

He has given some of the best speeches on governance and responsibility, even on race relations, but where it matters he is nowhere to be seen. In other words, he does not walk the talk. A miss, I’m afraid.

Anonymous 2319461440035118: What brand new image can Razaleigh give Umno? ‘Not as bad as the last guy’?

As royalty, a long-term MP and an ex-minister, he should know better than anyone that racial and religious rights are enshrined in the constitution. Yet even he, to this day, plays the race and religion card to curry favour.

The only way he knows how to rise to the top in Umno is to say that special rights are under threat. He is contributing to sowing discord between the ethnic groups in Malaysia… thus he is the perfect fit for Umno.

Smith: I fully support Razaleigh for Umno president. People say the Harapan government needs a viable opposition to act as its check and balance, and I agree wholeheartedly.

But why does that opposition have to be Umno? Why can’t it be someone else? Let some other party take its place, even new, ideologically-based parties.

The best boatman to ferry Umno into the afterlife will be Razaleigh. Because all he can promise is more of the same – no reforms, same tired race and religion claptrap, same money politics. Exactly what Umno needs to sail off ingloriously into the sunset.

Sirach: Yes, we need a strong opposition. Razaleigh is untainted by scandal, so he’d be a good choice to lead Umno. If Mahathir at 92 can lead the government, why not Razaleigh, who’s relatively younger (81), heading the opposition.

A Razaleigh-Khairy Jamaluddin team could be formidable, both being intelligent and articulate. There’s no love lost between Razaleigh and Mahathir, so that will make for sharp, but gentlemanly, exchanges in the Dewan Rakyat.

I’d look forward to them locking horns. Mahathir tossing his acerbic verbal right hook, and Razaleigh, ever-smiling, with the uppercut to counter.

It would be high-brow entertainment and yet another step forward towards a mature Westminster-style democracy.

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