BN will lose next General Election : says Ku Li

From: OngBak3

Subject: BN will lose next General Election : says Ku Li

Umno will lose the next general election if it fails to reform, warns
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has predicted that Umno and Barisan Nasional
(BN) will be voted out of power if concrete reforms are not
introduced.

“Mark my words. If they don’t change in the next three years they are
going to lose the next general elections,” the Kelantan prince and
Umno veteran told The Malaysian Insider in an interview earlier this
week.

The Gua Musang MP, whose views seem increasingly at odds with his own
party, pointed out that following Election 2008, BN remained in power
only because of support from politicians in Sabah and Sarawak.

In Election 2008, the Umno-led coalition suffered its worse result
since Merdeka. It managed 140 parliamentary seats, with Sabah and
Sarawak accounting for 55, while the opposition Pakatan Rakyat took 81
seats.

However, the parliamentarian said BN may not always have the support
of MPs from East Malaysia.

“They can sway either way, and will support the winner,” said Tengku
Razaleigh, who added that Umno was established in Sabah only between
1988 and 1989 while Umno did not exist in Sarawak.

He was also of the view that politicians from East Malaysia joined BN
because it was strong and could assure them of their rights.

“Why should they continue to back us? We’re dependent on them,” he
said, before adding that they would “watch and see”.

According to him, BN was also facing an uphill battle to regain the
support from Malays who were divided, as well as the Chinese.

Right-wing Malay Nationalist group Perkasa’s association with Umno was
not helping BN, Tengku Razaleigh pointed out.

“There’s no place for rabid racism,” he said, and claiming that even
young Malays were rejecting it.

“The more hard line you are, the more frightened people are.”

As for the opposition, Razaleigh said it “appears to be in disarray”
but he has been told that such impressions were because of the way
Pakatan was being portrayed in the media.

While on the opposition, Razaleigh also voiced his respect for Datuk
Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“It’s admirable that he has done so well,” he said, adding that the
opposition leader had fired up the imagination of voters, particularly
with the young.

Despite the bleak outlook for his own party, Tengku Razaleigh said all
was not lost for Umno, provided they listened to the people and
introduced reforms.

“It’s not too late. The people are crying for change, not just
housekeeping.”

Tengku Razaleigh has been described as the conscience of Umno but when
asked about this, he responded “I don’t know if I am.”

The maverick politician said he was only doing what was right and
reminisced about previous Umno leaders, such as Tun Hussein Onn, Tun
Abdul Razak Hussein and Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, who were respected
even by non-Malays.

As for the first prime minister, he said “Tunku (Abdul Rahman) was not
only respected but revered.”

He said these past leaders gained the respect of the people, and even
of opposition politicians like Lim Kit Siang, by being fair and
upholding the Constitution.

“So it’s nothing new, I am just emulating them.”

Source: Neville Spykerman, themalaysianinsider.com