Ku Li's reforms: Direct elections for Umno president, single BN party

Ku Li's reforms: Direct elections for Umno president, single BN party
By Leslie Lau, Consultant Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah plans to turn the Barisan Nasional coalition into a single political party with direct membership and an elected leader if he wins the Umno presidency.

Tengku Razaleigh wants to turn the BN into a multiracial party if he is elected Umno president.

As part of a slew of radical reforms he plans to introduce to BN and Umno, the 71-year-old leader also wants future Umno presidents to be directly elected.

"I am suggesting that BN becomes a multiracial party open to all. Umno members can, for example, be direct members of BN," he told The Malaysian Insider in an interview.

"As soon as I become Umno president I will propose this."

Tengku Razaleigh said he would announce at a later date the details of how he planned to turn BN into a single political party, and explain how such a proposal would affect the interest of all component members.

All he would say now was that, under his proposal, BN members would elect their leaders directly.

Tengku Razaleigh has been the only person so far to have offered himself as a candidate for the Umno presidency. He is likely to take on Datuk Seri Najib Razak if Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decides not to defend the post.

Asked about the kind of reforms he hopes to bring to Umno, Tengku Razaleigh said there should be direct elections at all levels of leadership, including that of the presidency.

"We have three million over members. If we give them the right to elect leaders at various levels we can get rid of money politics," he said.

"There is a need to democratise Umno. Power should be given back to members instead of being concentrated at the top."

He said that "when the masses are beholden to the leadership, we will not move forward."

As a further step to democratise Umno, Tengku Razaleigh said he would also introduce a proposal to allow members from each division to directly select candidates for the general elections.

He also wants to introduce some form of term limit in the party. "Maybe the president of Umno should be allowed to hold the post for eight or nine years at most."

Explaining the reasons behind the radical reforms he was suggesting, the Umno veteran said it was because he sees "Umno heading down."

"I do not think Umno can survive the next elections. People are simply going for material gains now for themselves and their supporters. People are becoming more corrupt.

"This is not the purpose of the party. It is for serving the people and it must be in tip-top condition to do that."