Malayur News

By Rahmah Ghazali

UPDATED SEPANG: Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today confirmed that he will accept Umno's offer to him to be Barisan Nasional's election director for the Galas by-election, due to be held on Nov 4.

However, he said the decision whether to be a candidate himself will only be made after a meeting with party president and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak next Monday.

Razaleigh, who returned to Malaysia after a long trip to the United Kingdom this morning, also had a short meeting with Kelantan Umno liaison chief Mustapa Mohamed and Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Later at a press conference, Razaleigh said he felt "responsible" to spearhead the election campaign because "I am an Umno member" who has been on the ground since he first joined politics.

"I am also the Gua Musang division head, a Gua Musang MP and I used to be a state assemblyman in Galas, which was previously known as Hulu Kelantan," he said.

The 73-year-old politician also dismissed claims that he was put in a difficult position by Umno when he was offered the role of an election director as well as a candidate amid his well-publicised stand on the oil royalty issue in Kelantan, which echoes the views of PAS ruling the state.

"That (oil royalty) issue does not arise because it is a national issue and cannot be questioned because the matter is in court. It would be sub judice for us to talk about it (during the campaign)," he said.

When asked if he felt “bad” taking up the position, Razaleigh said: "Why should I feel bad? I am an Umno member and I will fight for the people in Galas."

Razaleigh, who was flanked by Mustapa and Ahmad, also discounted allegations that both he and Mustapa are not on the same page since the latter was picked by the party to become the state liaison chief.

'No problem'

Asked whether he could cooperate with Mustapa in the by-election, Razaleigh smiled: "I have no problem working with Tok Pa (as Mustapa is fondly known)... I have no problem working with anybody since the time of the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman...”

Razaleigh, or popularly known as Ku Li, is Umno's favourite candidate after his own Gua Musang division declared its support for him to contest for the seat that fell vacant following the death of incumbent, PAS' Che Hashim Sulaiman.

Other Umno leaders agreed that Razaleigh, who has been Gua Musang MP since 1969, is the right candidate to boost Barisan Nasional's (BN) chances of wresting the seat back from PAS which captured it by a thin 646-vote majority in 2008.

Just after the seat became vacant about two weeks ago, deputy Umno president and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who traditionally heads the BN election machinery in by-elections, agreed that Razaleigh was the perfect choice to lead the BN charge in Galas.

Muhyiddin also did not think that PAS would stand to gain, given Razaleigh's stand on the oil royalty issue. (Razaleigh had stated that Petronas should give oil royalty to Kelantan, a move rejected by the federal government.)

Razaleigh, whose flight landed at the KLIA early today, was greeted by about 50 of his supporters who shouted "Hidup Ku Li" as he walked into the waiting room. Various leaders from the BN, including Gerakan Wanita chief, Tan Lian Hoe, were also present.

Syed Azidi, who used to be a pro-Kelantan PAS blogger with pseudonym “Kickdafella” before a fallout with the state government, was also spotted in the BN crowd.