Ku Li wants to rekindle spirit of founding fathers

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | July 19, 2011

Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will launch a new group to rekindle spirit of national unity.

KUALA LUMPUR: Respected Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, popularly known as Ku Li, is set to launch his new outfit Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) aimed at nurturing unity as espoused by the country’s founding fathers.

Amid a more racially divided Malaysia, Amanah said in a statement today the group bids “to reaffirm, inculcate and re-ignite the sense of togetherness and true family spirit that prevailed among all Malaysians during the time of our common struggle for national independence”.

It also said it wants to rekindle the legacy, promise and ideals of Bapa Malaysia and the founding fathers so that all Malaysians may live together as members of a truly just, fair, progressive, united and happy nation community.

Its other objectives are:

• To earnestly acknowledge, affirm and respect the sovereignty of the constituent states of the Malaysian Federation, consistent with the principles of federalism, democratic principles and in the true spirit of the Federal Constitution.

• To ensure that our national institutions respect and uphold the rule of law, democratic principles, rights and universal values.

• To support a government and administration that is transparent and accountable, truly competent, efficient, free of corruption and cronyism, clean and honest, fair and trustworthy, and that will be fully able to serve its functions and meet its responsibilities, freely and fairly; an administration that will always be mindful of the rights and interests of the people in whose name and cause it is appointed to serve.

• To promote the socio-economic well-being of the people, so that all Malaysians may enjoy truly advanced, progressive, fair and equitable lives – individually upholding filial piety and other noble values and collectively joined together in sincere family kinship as members of our national community and as stakeholders in our common national destiny.

• To support an economic policy that will help achieve and sustain a high standard of living for the people, based on the principle of justice, fairness and balance, consistent with the constitution and under a stable monetary condition.

Razaleigh, who is the group’s founding president, will deliver his keynote speech on Friday at the Memorial Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra here.

The Kelantan prince, said to be the “last statesman”, has been very critical towards his own party Umno, the Malay linchpin in the Barisan Nasional.

He has often called for Umno, whose image is badly tarnished by its racial politics, to return to the party’s original struggles – the guardian of all races in the country.