“I hope to see a common national agenda evolving in the country in pursuit of a more just, equitable and balanced prosperity for all, irrespective of race, religion and partisan political alignments...”

      - Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

Critics say Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is clutching at straws to remain relevant at a time when national politics has narrowed to a divisive tussle between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat. There is no place for a third force like his newly-formed Angkatan Amanah Merdeka. As president of the newly-formed non-governmental organization (NGO) which seeks to return to the comforting policies of first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tengku Razaleigh, or Ku Li as he’s famously known, has embarked on a political maneuver that might make or break him (again).

A number of third forces had spawned from this climate of political uncertainty in recent times, namely the recently established Jati, the troubled Kita and Perkasa. This groups which is separate from the government and the opposition will be able to influence voters one way or another come election day. Some may deem the third-forces as in effective or irrelevant in our transformed political landscape following the tsunami of 2008. However, these NGOs will be the ones assuming the role of kingmaker in the event of a hung Parliament.

At one level, these groups are signaling there is a niche out there for those who have rejected the old politics of Barisan Nasional but have not completely bought into the so-called new politics of Pakatan Rakyat.
 
“Each group comes to the table with a slightly different political message to sell,” said political analyst and UCSI academic Dr Ong Kian Ming.

Ku Li’s path to political stardom has not been easy. In the 1969 general election, he won the Parliamentary seat of Kelantan Barat. In 1971, he was elected to the Umno Supreme Council, and was elected as a vice-president of Umno in 1975. After Prime Minister Abdul Razak's sudden death in 1976, he was appointed as Finance Minister by the new Prime Minister, Hussein Onn.

When Dr Mahathir Mohamad succeeded Hussein as prime minister, the former declared the election for the deputy presidency of Umno. Ku Li joined the fray, and his main opposition was Musa Hitam. Eventually, Musa won the election with 722 votes to Razaleigh's 517 votes, becoming the new deputy president of Umno and deputy prime minister. Ku Li blamed himself for taking "a rather passive stance" and not having a campaign strategy.

Fast forward to 2008, the year of the historical political tsunami of the 12th General Election (GE12), compared to its record win in the previous election in 2004, GE12 was a big boo-boo for Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN). Pak Lah, as BN chairman and prime minister had no choice but to take the blame for party’s dismal performance then. If Pak Lah had not stepped down soon enough after losing two-thirds majority, Malaysians would have been compelled to tell him to do so.

At that time (2008) Ku Li was viewed as a vehement politician. Strong and noble, he was and still is the opposite of Pak Lah. He is a blue-blooded Umno man who seemingly has the desire to take over the presidency of the party and he nearly succeeded in doing so when he challenged Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1987 (Dr Mahathir won by a margin of 43 votes). Since after his Semangat 46 undertaking he was stuck in his Gua Musang MP berth and given very little voice within the party to what he’s used to.

With Umno’s poor showing in GE12 was a window of opportunity for Ku Li to shine. He has been waiting for so long and now is the time for him to take the power back. At that time many Malaysians felt that Ku Li was outspoken enough to ask Pak Lah to quit or be voted out in the next Umno Supreme Council election that was to be held at the end of 2008.

But then again, all hope fades to dust. Najib was chosen as Prime Minister. So, in July 2011, the Kelantan prince unveiled his team that formed Amanah which included former MCA president Ong Tee Keat, former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam and former Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir as his deputies. Among other personalities he has picked as his deputy presidents were former leaders of Sabah and Sarawak – Tuaran MP Wilfred Bumburing, former PBB leader Bujang Ulis and former Sarawak deputy chief minister Daniel Tajem.

Tengku Razaleigh hopes that Amanah would help the silent majority make their voices heard to break free from political manipulators who have been holding the country at ransom. Amanah is said to put emphasis on the spirit of sincerity to boost racial ties, as propagated by the late Tunku. At the same time, Amanah may well be a platform for Ku Li to take back what he had lost to Dr Mahathir back in the 1987.

Other than the recent contoversial statements made by Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir against Umno, Amanah and its founder Tengku Razaleigh have been very quiet lately. This may just be a calm before the storm. But if Ku Li does have intention to take the power back this would be the best time to do it.

*The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer.