Ku Li braves Malaysia's 'quiet clampdown' to fire Anwar for being an empty vessel, showing Umno's latent scorn for PMX
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Ironic or not, Umno's on-off PM aspirant Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has attacked Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as an empty vessel - a leader who only knows how to talk big but carries out little or no reforms at all.
Razaleigh, or better known as Ku Li by locals, is a former finance minister who wielded great power in the 1970s and early 1980s. Even the great Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's iconic and legendary leader feared him and plotted to oust him from Umno.
But now 87 years of age, Ku Li is a pale shadow of his former self - having failed to wrest the top seat of power despite trying for decades, while Anwar has managed to finally become the country's 10th PM.
Even still, Ku Li's political acumen is sharp. It appears his ambition has not waned and above all, he is still fearless especially when compared to those in the Opposition, where leaders including ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin and Pas chief Hadi Awang are noticeably cowed by a ruthless gag and government clampdown on those who dare to criticize Anwar or speak up on the PM's many weak spots.
Yet despite speaking from a position of weakness, Ku Li has again hit the nail on the head.
Anwar, his rival for decades for the PM's post, has failed to perform to expectations. For many Malaysians, this is indeed a public truth and visible fact - yet anyone who raises the issue or dares to say it runs the risk of being harassed or hauled up by Anwar's communications czar Fahmi Fadzil and the government enforcement apparatus including even the police.
“Is there reform? It’s just all talk. What he used to shout about was only because he was angry with the former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, for ‘attacking’ and arresting him," Malay daily Utusan Malaysia reported Ku Li as saying.
“Thus, the ‘Reformasi’ movement was born, and people agreed with this call. Just so justice would be given to him."
“He (Anwar) says it takes time, but it’s been over two years since he became prime minister. From the time when Mahathir was prime minister twice and Barisan Nasional fell, there has been no record of how to bring about reform,” added Ku Li.
KU LI MAKES PUBLIC UMNO'S LATENT SCORN FOR ANWAR
Barisan Nasional is the coalition led by Umno and is part of Anwar's unity government of the the day. Umno recently won two by-elections - one in Mahkota, Johor and the other in Nenggiri, Kelantan. Ku Li had personally strategized the Nenggiri charge, helping Umno and consequently the Anwar administration keep the upper-hand against the Opposition.
But whether Anwar and his ruling coalition can win the next general election due in 2027 remains to be seen. Even more interesting to pundits is whether Umno will continue to support Anwar or allow him to stay on as PM after the election, which will be the country's 16th.
Umno members have mostly been against allying with Anwar, who was sacked from their party by Mahathir in 1997 over sodomy accusations. They also dislike his Pakatan Harapan coalition which includes the Chinese-dominated DAP party.
"GE16 is not necessarily the same, by-elections run on different dynamics," Tian Chua, the MP for Batu, told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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