Tawfik Ismail and Umno veteran Syed Hamid Albar both said Tengku Razaleigh’s past experience in government and in opposition would stand Umno in good stead after the party was ousted from power in the general election last month.
Independent analyst Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said Tengku Razaleigh was viewed as being a more worthy, credible and senior opponent to Pakatan Harapan chairman and prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
However, Universiti Malaya analyst Awang Azman Pawi said a younger leader should have contested for the top post.
Tengku Razaleigh, more popularly known as Ku Li, announced yesterday that he would contest the Umno presidency, left vacant after Najib Razak resigned in the wake of the general election.
What the observers say:
No yes man, has experience of Mahathir era
Tawfik, son of a former deputy prime minister, and a former MP, said Umno would benefit from having a leader who was an MP with experience of the Mahathir era.
Tengku Razaleigh, unlike Zahid, did not have a reputation of being a “yes man”, he said. Umno was now an opposition party and Tengku Razaleigh had been in opposition before, whereas Zahid had always been in Umno. Tengku Razaleigh set up the Semangat 46 party in opposition to Mahathir’s government during the early 1990s.
Tawfik noted that it was Mahathir who took Umno on a separate path that lead to Umno’s problems today, and younger Pakatan Harapan leaders would benefit from having Tengky Razaleigh as opposition leader. The younger PH leaders did not know how Mahathir performed when he was previously prime minister “and what he’s capable of doing”.
Someone that all Malaysians can trust
Syed Hamid said Tengku Razaleigh was well qualified to be party president, having served in Umno and the government for a long time.
He said Umno members should choose a leader who could rebuild the party, fix Umno’s bad image and regain the trust of all people, not just the Malays. “They must pick the person who can win the trust of all Malaysians,” he said.
Tengku Razaleigh likely to defeat Zahid
Kamarul believes that Tengku Razaleigh’s stature and credentials would give him victory over Zahid as “Ku Li is seen as a more worthy, credible and senior opponent to Mahathir”.
Tengku Razaleigh, a former finance minister and founding chief executive of Petronas, was also seen to be more of a technocrat, with expertise on issues such as the economy. “He also has a clean image. He is not linked to Najib and speaks good English, unlike Zahid who has been mocked for his poor command of the language.”
Kamarul believes Umno members would have adverse feelings about Zahid’s recent meeting with Mahathir after the general election. “Mahathir said Zahid had sought his advice. This isn’t just taboo but a sign of weakness,” he said.
Zahid should have only contested for the deputy presidency, Kamarul said.
Younger leader should contest to be president
Awang questioned whether Tengku Razaleigh’s candidacy showed Umno to be short of credible leaders.
“In the past Umno criticised Pakatan Harapan for turning to Mahathir for leadership. Now they have to eat humble pie if Ku Li is chosen as president,” he said.
A younger candidate, such as Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin, should have contested the top post, Awang said. “Ku Li’s candidacy shows Umno members aren’t confident with younger leaders.”
He expected Johor Umno to back Tengku Razaleigh, while Perak and Sabah divisions were likely to back Zahid. However, Tengku Razaleigh did not have a history with Najib’s government and the 1MDB scandal.
Nominations for the party elections close today, with voting taking place on June 30. Umno’s elections are the first in almost three years after Umno successfully obtained an extension of its election deadline from the Registrar of Societies.