Tengku Razaleigh, better known as Ku Li, said Anwar is aware that he cannot be an effective leader without grassroots support from the Malay community.

Tengku Razaleigh said this grassroots support comes from Umno, a key component party of the unity government, which is also the country’s largest party with over three million members.

“Anwar understands this, and he cannot be the leader everyone is expecting unless he receives support from this ‘group’,” he told FMT after attending a dialogue about his memoirs.

On Umno Supreme Council member Jalaluddin Alias’s earlier statement that the party is ready to welcome back expelled or dismissed members, Tengku Razaleigh affirmed the matter.

Tengku Razaleigh, who is an adviser to Umno, said however that the party’s struggles cannot be compromised to accommodate the whims of certain groups.

“There are things we cannot adjust to their preferences. Some left and joined PAS, Bersatu, and so on, but we hope that, perhaps, with new ideas, with new direction from Umno’s leadership, we can welcome them back,” he said.

Several prominent party leaders such as Khairy Jamaluddin, Noh Omar and Isham Jalil were among those expelled from Umno in January 2023. At the time, the party also suspended former minister Hishammuddin Hussein and former information chief Shahril Hamdan.