Ku Li caught between oil royalty and party loyalty

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — The 73-year-old Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah finds himself in a pickle, caught between his appointment as the man charged with wresting the Galas state seat from PAS and his backing for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) party in its oil royalty fight with the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government.

And he is being forced by his own party to quickly choose between the two.

Deputy Umno president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin added to the pressure on Tengku Razaleigh by suggesting that he would be the ideal candidate for BN.

The Kelantan prince (picture), affectionately known as Ku Li, has been the Umno MP for Gua Musang — which includes the Galas state seat — since 1969 and still remains an influential figure in his state.

According to his aides, he is now in London and is expected to return on October 9, three days after the Election Commission (EC) announces the date for the by-election caused by the death this week of the PAS state assemblyman.

Tengku Razaleigh is expected to hold a press conference when he returns and will speak about his role in the by-election.

But his insistence on backing the PAS Kelantan state government in its claims for oil royalty will be a major issue in the campaign.

The PAS campaign will certainly play up the oil royalty claim in its campaign.

And this will put Tengku Razaleigh in an unenviable position.

Dr Mohammad Agus Yusof from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia told The Malaysian Insider that Umno will have to give Tengku Razaleigh autonomy in running the campaign.

“There is a conflict, a very big conflict but it depends if he accepts his appointment. We cannot make any assumptions because there is no confirmation yet. It is hypothetical and not yet a fact.

“He must, however, be given autonomous power to make his own decision and strategies for the campaign because there is no point if people do not listen to him. I still think he has tremendous influence in Gua Musang and Kelantan,” he said.

Reports from Tengku Razaleigh’s Gua Musang division say the veteran MP has accepted his appointment as director of BN’s campaign, and is already preparing to lead the campaign.

Tengku Razaleigh’s appointment is unprecedented as BN traditionally uses the Umno deputy president as campaign chief in by-elections.

But his appointment could turn the tide in favour of Umno and BN because Gua Musang is his stronghold.

Some in Umno believe that if he takes up the challenge to be candidate he would almost certainly win.

But either as candidate or as campaign director, his conflicts of interests will be exposed.

Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian said Ku Li would have to ”compartmentalize” his different roles due to the conflict of interest between oil royalty and party.

“It is going to be an interesting situation for Tengku Razaliegh Hamzah because on one hand he will be working for the state and the oil royalty issue. So I think there is going to be some conflict.

“Maybe he will compartmentalize the role that he is playing. As an observer I think it is still early days and he has not made any comments yet. So we will have to wait for him to say something. However many have commented on the difficulty of his position,” he said.

However Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani from Universiti Utara Malaysia pointed out that Umno had made the right decision in appointing Tengku Razaleigh because of his influence in the state.

“Regardless of the issue, I think he is the most suitable candidate to become the director for the by-election. Even though in by-elections, it is usually the DPM but considering Galas is Kuli’s and Umno’s stronghold, he is the most suitable.

“There will be a clash and conflict of interest but Kuli’s heart is still in Barisan Nasional. I also think it is a good strategy by Umno because PAS will not be able to capitalise on the oil royalty and allow Umno to concentrate on other issues. It would certainly increase Umno’s chances with Kuli as the director and PAS will feel threatened.”

For now, the country awaits Ku Li’s take on the issue when he returns from London.