Political analysts say the idea has some merit but there are too many obstacles and considerations to be taken into account for it to materialise.
Political analysts while admitting that Tengku Razaleigh (Ku Li ) is the one man who has the credibility and respect to weld the opposition parties together, say it may however never materialise.
This speculation was started a few days ago by Independent MP Zahrain Mohamed Hashim of Bayan Baru.
He told Utusan Malaysia that the Pakatan leadership met Ku Li to convince him to head the opposition coalition for fear that Anwar Ibrahim may be jailed for sodomy.
“To even think of that… it’s not there yet. It is highly speculative at the moment but many things have to be in the right place.
“There have been rumours about Ku Li leaving Umno for a few years now but that has never taken place and he has stayed on. It will require something really dramatic for him to want to leave,” said Ooi Kee Beng, co-ordinator of Malaysia study programme at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
“Pakatan will also need to allow Ku Li to assume that position. There are so many other factors like Ku Li’s age for one,” he added of the politician who is in his seventies.
“We must also remember that for this to materialise, Anwar needs to be out of the ‘race’ legally,” he said.
However, Ooi added that Ku Li’s name is being bandied about as the Gua Musang MP was a Malay leader who was broadly acceptable by Malays and the non-Malays.
“PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang still requires a lot support. Ku Li can fill in the gap. He is someone of stature and moral standing and respected by Malaysians. He also has a record of being a competent statesman,” he said.
Crazy idea
Prof James Chin of Monash University said that the idea is “crazy” but admitted that Ku Li is one of the few politicians in the political scene capable of holding the opposition together.
“There are very few politicians in the Malaysian political landscape that can bring together DAP, PAS and PKR. Ku Li is one of the the few,” he said.
“He can be brought in to hold Pakatan together if Anwar is jailed. But I think all of this is just in anticipation of the election and thus people are pushing for this crazy idea,” he added.
Chin also shared Ooi’s sentiment saying that Ku Li’s political skills are “not questionable” but stressed that the switch is unlikely.
UiTM Assoc Prof Shaharuddin Baharuddin also brushed aside any such possibility because Ku Li is someone who “plays it safe”.
“Although he is a politician on par with Dr Mahathir (Mohamad), he is someone who likes to play it safe,” he said.
He also recalled that Umno once considered Ku Li as a replacement to former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, however that did not materialise.
He said Umno will be undermined if they lose Ku Li to the opposition.
“Ku Li is a giant, like Lim Kit Siang, Anwar, Mahathir. If Ku Li does leave, then it will undermine Umno and Najib will have to face another giant. I don’t think he can face so many giants,” he added.
Perkasa: It won’t happen
Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali is also confident that Ku Li will not accept the offer from the opposition.
Describing the Umno veteran as a wise statesman, he said the Kelantan prince will not falll into this political trap.
Ibrahim said if Pakatan was sincere, it should have made the offer earlier and not wait until Anwar is slapped with a sodomy charge.
“I know this effort (to rope in Ku Li) has been going on, but I am confident he won’t take up the offer. He (Ku Li) once told me that he is a Muslim, and his party is Umno,” he added.
2 comments:
Ku Li unlikely to join opposition’? How about reforming the Department of Religion?
I went to the Post Office to register to vote; and upon checking my identity card, the Post officer asked which religion I belonged to. Why? I do not know. Therefore, we must reform the Department of Religion. Right now, only Islam is recognised as the religion in the Department of Religion. Therefore we need reforms. We need to divide the Department of Religion into two branches: one branch to deal with Muslim Affairs, and another branch to deal with non-Muslim Affairs.
Please make sure you go to the nearest Post Office to register to vote. Please exercise your right to vote.
If you do agree with me, please copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Those who receive it must in turn copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Let’s get the word around to as many people as possible. Let’s see what happens.
I’m sure that there are several reforms that Malaysia should undergo. Let’s at least get one thing reformed: education. As it is, there are three language streams in Malaysia. That, is, there are Malay-medium, Chinese-medium, and Tamil-medium schools currently operating in Malaysia. Then somebody decided to teach maths and science in English in all these three school systems. Next, somebody decided to flip-flop and remove the teaching of Maths and Science in English. What’s going on? They introduce English and then they remove it. There are too many flip flops.
Therefore, I read something interesting as a solution. Let me share it with you.
Firstly, lets leave the three language school system as it is.
Let’s focus on kindergarten schools. Let’s allow private kindergarten schools to have total autonomy from political intervention. If private kindergarten schools are allowed to teach the 3R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic) in English, then it may solve the problem.
Hopefully, the next generation of Malaysian children will firstly go for three years to an English kindergarten. After completing a stint in the English kindergarten, next the children will enter primary school. In primary school, they have to choose between Malay, Chinese, and Tamil medium schools. Eventually, they will complete secondary school education.
These students will be more multi-lingual and therefore will be an asset to the nation in a globalizing world.
In any case, almost all the universities (both government and private) use English language text books. Therefore, we have to connect English kindergartens on the one hand with English language text books in universities on the other hand. Do you see the connection now?
In any case, it is better than flip flopping. The bottom line is that I am sick and tired of politicians and bureaucrats constantly changing the public education system at the expense of the children of Malaysia. Somebody even put English as the only medium of instruction for Maths and Science only to be removed by another politician. So, instead of removing English I have decided to push English down to the kindergartens in Malaysia. The question is: should we push English up or down? I think we should push English medium down to the private kindergartens. This will be fair and square to everybody. Let's call this the MALAYSIAN MODEL. The Malaysian model means that Malaysian children will study for 3 years in English medium in private kindergartens. Then, they will be ready to enter the public school system. If the Malaysian model catches on it may be imitated by nations in ASEAN and the rest of Asia. Probably. I do not know. We will wait and see.
I fully agree that they should stop teaching Maths and Science in English in the public school system. Teaching Maths and Science in English would marginalize rural children who are mostly Malays. We want a system that does not marginalize. Solution: Malaysian Model. I suggest that all rural kindergartens be funded by the government and become English medium kindergartens. In fact, all government funded kindergartens should give early childhood education exclusively in English. I can tell you now that rural Malays will lag behind if they do not attach value to multi-lingualism. I can tell you that nobody can discern or predict on the massive market; and that the market makes and shapes the person.
Let us suppose that the university is at the top; and kindergarten will be known as the bottom. Both the top and the bottom would use English language textbooks. In between the top and bottom would be the Malay-medium, Chinese medium, and Tamil medium schools. This is the solution.
If you do agree with me, please copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Those who receive it must in turn copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Let’s get the word around to as many people as possible. Let’s see what happens.
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