GEORGE TOWN – Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has resigned as chairman of the Umno advisory board effective immediately, stressing that the position does not have any constitutional power.
This was after he questioned the Malay party's ability to win the next 15th general election (GE15).
On Monday, the party veteran had sent a letter to president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, highlighting that elected legislative leaders and those in the government had replaced individuals in the previous government with the blessings of the Umno leadership.
He said this was so, even though the public and the grassroots have expressed their frustration because almost all positions are now filled by individuals who had “failed”.
“Can they help our party redeem the defeat in GE15 and end the suspended Parliament?” he wrote.
The Umno veteran, who was a minister in the 70s and 80s, also thanked Zahid for allowing him to play a “small” role in the party recently.
During a press conference yesterday, Tengku Razaleigh announced his intention to revive the original Umno that was deregistered in 1988.
He said that any legal action taken to bring back the old Umno will be done with like-minded individuals, and mooted the setting up of a pro-tem committee.
He revealed that his plan for old Umno was not discussed with Zahid.
Tengku Razaleigh’s internal sparring with the Umno leadership has been going on after the sudden change of government in March 2020 when Umno threw its support behind Bersatu.
In a letter dated July 26 to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, he said he had applied for a change of seat away from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) backbenchers because he no longer supported the PN government.
“From the beginning, I have never supported or been under the PN government.
“I do not yet know whether other Dewan Rakyat members from my party have dealt with the speaker about their seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
“I would like to move to another appropriate place, according to the spirit of the Barisan Nasional/Umno struggle, especially for my voters, Umno members, and Malaysians that I represent, so that they won't consider me a supporter of this failed government,” he had reasoned. – The Vibes, September 22, 2021
