Calls from within Umno for Ku Li to contest in Galas have continued to grow louder. — file pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz today joined the chorus of Umno leaders calling for Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to contest the Galas by-election.
Nazri said that the Gua Musang MP would be the ideal choice to run for the Galas state seat, which became vacant last week with the death of PAS lawmaker Che Hashim Sulaima, triggering the country’s 12th by-election since Election 2008.
“When we enter a by-election, the main aim is to win. Who wants to enter a by-election to lose? We have to put in our best, put in winners.
“So as a member of Umno’s supreme council, I fully support Ku Li not only as an elections director, but also as the candidate for the Galas seat,” Nazri told reporters today.
Several Umno leader have declared their support for Tengku Razaleigh to contest as a candidate, most notably deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Nazri said that the politician popularly known as Ku Li would be the best candidate because of his track record as an Umno leader, and his having held important government positions in the past.
Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor revealed earlier today that Kelantan prince had agreed to lead BN’s campaign in Galas as elections director, although he has yet to make a formal announcement regarding the matter.
PAS leaders have, however, questioned Umno’s sincerity in saying that Tengku Razaleigh was the best candidate to recapture the Galas state seat within his Gua Musang federal constituency.
They claimed that Muhyiddin was trying to undermine the Kelantan prince’s credibility as Tengku Razaleigh has clashed with the Umno leadership over party policies, including the payment of oil royalty to the state.
Ku Li has been consistent in backing the PAS Kelantan state government in its claims for royalty payments from the federal administration.
Nazri, however, disagreed with PAS and lashed out at them today, calling them “hypocrites.”
“PAS says we are short of good leaders because we want Ku Li for Galas... well, pot calling the kettle black, eh?
“The same can be said for PAS, (Datuk) Nik Aziz (Nik Mat) has been Kelantan mentri besar for so long. He is so old but he is still there,” said Nazri.
The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said that there was nothing “insulting” in nominating a person to be an elected representative, even for a decorated leader like Tengu Razaleigh.
The Umno veteran has represented the Gua Musang constituency — which includes the Galas state seat — since 1969 and still remains an influential figure in his state.
The late Che Hashim had been suffering from colon cancer for more than a year and was admitted to Kampung Baru Medical Centre here last week before finally succumbing to his illness.
The one-term assemblyman had been diagnosed with cancer in 2009, when he underwent a medical check-up at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. The PAS lawmaker had been receiving treatment at specialist hospitals in Kota Baru and Guangzhou, China since then.
Che Hashim won Galas with 4,399 votes, defeating incumbent Saufi Deraman. In the 2008 general election, PAS was able to capture 38 of the 45 state seats in Kelantan while BN won six and PKR managed only one.
The Malays make up 65.81 per cent of the more than 10,000 voters in the state constituency, the Chinese 22.03 per cent, Indians 1.81 per cent, while other races are at 10.32 per cent.
Two other state seats in the Gua Musang constituency — Nenggiri and Paloh — were won by BN with majority of 2,090 vote and 2,833 votes respectively.
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