Bringing back respectability to UMNO
There are so many things which the UMNO president can achieve having Tengku Razaleigh helming the Galas by elections. Politically Ku Li is the borrowed knife with which Najib can kill his political enemies. Ku Li is the Plum tree with which Najib can get the peach tree. But only if Najib is smart enough. One, he can now start the process of national reconciliation. That's what Ku Li stood for all this time. Let's hope his coterie of self serving advisors don't tell him that giving Tengku Razaleigh this role is giving TRH a second lease of political life. And also lets hope Ku Li's supporters are not over enthusiastic and read this appointment beyond the significance its due. The biggest problem with Najib is he is gullible. He does listen to bitchy tales, embellished stores of small conspiracies, etc. Plus, Najib is not known for his resolve. He is not ruthless in execution. Didn't I say he has acquired the moniker TPM?- Tak Pernah Muktamad? It is of course prudent to have a little bit of suspiciousness for reason of self preservation. The bad thing here is that people will constantly feed him with bits and pieces of misinformation. And Najib does succumb to these kind of stories. We shall see what he does when Ku Lin wins Galas for UMNO. I hope Najib is mindful of the fact that Ku Li is already 73 years old. He is well placed to play the role of an elder statesman and if I can get ahead of myself, it would be profitable for Najib to formalize this role by giving TRH a post as senior minister. Put him in charge of the ETP. This is a supremely important program for the country that requires helmsmanship by a widely respectable leader. To ensure ETP's success, Najib must placed it under the command of a person with the caliber of Tengku Razaleigh. If TRH can't deliver that, he is out forever. If he succeeds, the ETP succeeds and much credit will go to Najib as being insightful enough to leverage on an almost forgotten talent. On the contrary, his choice of Razaleigh can win him allegiance and political longevity. Provided the PM is ready to abandon his firefighting political ways and adopt a strategic longer term approach. That's the sacrificing the Plum Tree part. Used properly, Tengku Razaleigh can be a boost to him. Abused, he will be finished. Whether anyone likes it or not, Razaleigh is a symbol of what is politically so right in politics. He stands for the rule of law and the proper separation of powers. Especially that of separation of powers between the executive and legislative. The executive derives his power from the legislature and he carries out what is decided by the legislator. Disputes are resolved through the judiciary. He stands for the values of old UMNO where agreements to disagree do not lead to political hostilities. Within a democratic process, members are free to contest against each other but then their rivalries do not degenerate into open political hostilities. Our country has been beset with divisive and partisan politics. Our country has been ravaged by the politics of racism. All these sap the energy from the one thing that matters to everyone of us. That is managing this country to prosperity which shall be shared by everyone of us. The significance of choosing Tengku Razaleigh goes beyond Galas. The choice of Razaleigh has national ramifications. Here is a man who stood for loyalty to a cause. That explained his readiness and willingness to cross swords with mainstream UMNO leadership. He has disagreed with many of the party's policies- the question of oil royalty, the manner in which UMNO leadership is elected, the scourge of corruption, how the economy is managed. Yet inspite of all these, the party leadership hasn't got a choice but to agree to Razaleigh being the chief campaign manager for Galas. And we believe he will win Galas easily for UMNO. And by doing that, he will show and educate other UMNO people, why it can win. It can win not by using coercive powers, not by paying their way through, not through employing hand handed methods. I am delighted to note that Razaleigh has decided to carry out campaigning in Galas using primarily local resources. Party workers, voluntary workers, local speakers. He brings back the ABC of political campaigning methods. Reaching out to people doesn't have to assume loud and aggressive methods.
