Many Still Clueless Over Tengku Razaleigh's Amanah

By Alan Ting

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 (Bernama) -- Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's decision to become president of a civil society non-governmental organisation (NGO), Angkatan Amanah Merdeka or Amanah, has left many politicians, as well as political analysts, guessing.

Why would he join an NGO? What is his agenda, especially when he is still regarded as a veteran Umno leader and member of parliament (MP) for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN)?

"What is the purpose of such an NGO? What is their next move? No MP wants to form an NGO without an agenda. He has something up his sleeve," noted MCA veteran politican Datuk Yap Pian Hon, who is also Selangor BN publicity chief.

Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) believed that the politicians behind Amanah, who described themselves as a minority group, might aspire to be the catalyst for the so-called 'third force' within BN.

Maybe, he said, they needed a platform to comment on current issues as most of their leaders had been in the government previously.

Tengku Razaleigh, or Ku Li as he is affectionately known, had served as finance minister while Amanah's deputy presidents are Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat (former MCA president and former transport minister), Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir (former tourism/former information minister) and Datuk S. Subramaniam, a former deputy minister.

The academician said it remained to be seen whether Amanah could influence voting patterns in the next general election.

Personally, he did not think that they could but if they could get their act right, they might become a force to be reckoned with.

Some political pundits believe that Ku Li might be posturing himself for a bargaining position: by being at Amanah, he could have the best position to get the best deal from both political divides.

For example, they said that this was especially against the backdrop of the possibility of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto Opposition chief, being convicted of a sodomy charge and thrown into jail.

Anwar's wife and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is not eligible to contest for a period of five years after she had resigned as Permatang Pauh MP to pave the way for Anwar to win the seat in a by-election.

Some analysts feel that Tengku Razaleigh could emerge as the likely candidate to lead the Opposition if Anwar was left out in the cold.

But DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had openly said that Anwar remained the Opposition troika's choice candidate for prime minister even if he ended up in prison.

"There is no talk at all (for Tengku Razaleigh to be the Opposition's choice for prime minister). We don't know the political stand of Ku Li," said DAP CEC member Jeff Ooi.

"He can't take a (quick) helicopter ride (to the top). We (the opposition pact of PKR-DAP-PAS) have gone all out to create an alternative front. If he wants to join us, we will not reject him outright but the fact is that for us, he is merely of a princely stature."

Ooi does not think that Amanah's leaders could pose any direct challenge to the Opposition as he believes that most of them are from a "bygone era" and currently lack pulling power.

"Take Tengku Razaleigh, for example. He is an outsider to Umno and outsider to PR (Pakatan Rakyat). He is only in his own league. There is no collateral damage to us," he said, adding that the Kelantan prince's move to head Amanah had only drawn some attention.

So, what is Amanah's gameplan? Tengku Razaleigh is still non-commital and fuzzy about plans.

At a press conference today, to announce that the Registrar of Societies had approved Amanah's establishment, he said, although Amanah would remain an NGO in the near future, he did not rule out the possibility of it becoming politically active.

"It is up to the members...I'm not saying 'yes' or 'no' because it depends on the members. You cannot write off anything because the possibilities are there," he said.

When asked on his role in the next election, Tengku Razaleigh kept everyone guessing by saying that it would be very difficult to say what he was going to do next.