Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz
Why is Umno quiet about Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and his Amanah? The answer is that they simply can’t do anything about it.Even among Umno members there is increasing disquiet about how things are managed.Saifuddin Abdullah’s recent ‘out-of-line’ statements and Khairy Jamaluddin’s conscientious objections are only tips of the icebergs. Tengku Razaleigh is merely pointing out the realities. He is still an Umno member – so what can Umno do at the moment?
Umno can’t sack a person of his stature without precipitating its own implosion. So go ahead- sack him and it will make the days of many.
Tengku Razaleigh is of course mindful of the possible repercussions of his actions. He may not be fielded as an Umno candidate in the next elections. He may lose the support of Gua Musang Umno.
Current Umno leaders inconsequential
The last time I spoke to him, he was telling me of these reservations. I pointed out to him that his victory doesn’t just depend on Umno votes.
It depends on the rakyat. Given the history of seeing only 60 % of Umno members voting for their own candidates and 60 % of Malays voting for non Umno candidates in the last general election, I would rate his chances as being above average.
The opinion of the present Umno leadership is quite simply inconsequential. So that is why Umno is quiet about the whole thing.
At the moment this is what Amanah provides. Amanah provides platform for speaking out against the abuses on the Merdeka heritage.
The assault on fair and free elections. Because the means by which we achieve our end, to get a clean and fair government, is also the end itself.
The clean and fair government which is the end, must be justified by clean and fair means.
We want to speak out against the endemic corruption that has engulfed this country.
We want to speak out against the assault on the judiciary which has caused public distrust and the haplessness, the divisiveness of the people because of opportunistic racism and all that.
Clarion call
The Amanah platform now serves primarily as a clarion call for people to set aside their partisan politics and see what the country has become into.
The beneficiaries of an independent country are now witnessing the blatant abuse of what has been bequeathed to them by our founding fathers.
While it serves as a clarion call or sounding board, the cudgels will be picked up by others hopefully.
True, Tengku Razaleigh hasn’t got the organizational structures at the moment, but only because it’s only just launched and its not a political organization.
But more important, I think, by launching Amanah, Tengku Razeleigh is signaling his readiness and willingness to offer leadership.
The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman
http://www.kl-today.com/2011/07/umno-can%E2%80%99t-risk-sacking-ku-li/
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