KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today warned against fielding “tainted candidates” in the Bagan Pinang by-election as it could undermine Umno, going against the tide that wants a convincing victory after a string of defeats to the Pakatan Rakyat since Election 2008.
“If Umno continues to field tainted candidates, the public might justly conclude that it would be better for the country that Umno lost,” the Gua Musang MP said in a statement received by The Malaysian Insider today.
His comments comes after the Teluk Kemang Umno proposed former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the seat left vacant after the coalition's Azman Mohamad Noor died early this month. Isa was suspended as an Umno vice-president for six years in early 2005 for money politics but the penalty was later reduced to three years.
"In our now dangerously divided society, it is important not just that elections be won, but that they be won with honour and by honourable individuals; that is to say, in a way that inspires the public’s trust in our institutions and enlarges our common sense of justice.
"Only then can the results of elections unite rather than divide us. That is our larger challenge," said the former Umno vice-president who has lost three bids to be party president. He lost to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the 1987 party polls which led to Umno being deregistered later and did not qualify for two other bids against Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The Kelantan prince noted the BN was facing by-elections for the eighth time since the March 2008 polls, while sitting out the Penanti by-election.
"The opposition has now won seven by-elections in a row in Peninsular Malaysia. Umno has contested six and lost all six. By now no one can doubt that the public dissatisfaction with BN that led to the loss of five states and the loss of its two-thirds majority has not been reversed.
"A cornerstone of that dissatisfaction is the perception that those in power are corrupt, and arrogant in their corruption. Hence when our leaders fielded a disbarred lawyer with a proven record of financial dishonesty, and then went on to brush aside all objections to their choice, they confirmed that perception.
"They sent the message that Umno considers itself above common standards of decency," said the politician popularly known as Ku Li.
Without referring to Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin by name, Tengku Razaleigh noted that one young Umno leader was quoted as saying that the only criterion for the selection of candidates is that they can win.
"This is precisely the kind of short-term thinking that keeps Umno and BN on the wrong side of history, going in reverse while the Malaysian public presses ahead with demands for greater accountability and transparency," he added.
He called on the party leadership to be careful in selecting the candidate for Bagan Pinang.
"Beyond winning and losing political battles, the party leadership should step back and think about how their choice of candidates reflects upon the party and ultimately upon their own integrity. Nothing says more about what we stand for and who we are than the kind of leaders we champion," Tengku Razaleigh said.
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