Umno EGM: Dr M backs Ku Li

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said that he supported a call by veteran party leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for an emergency general meeting for the party to discuss its terrible performance in the general election.

Dr Mahathir Backs Proposed EGM KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today he supports the proposal by Gua Musang Member of Parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that Umno calls for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on May 11. He said the EGM was necessary to discuss the reasons why the Barisan Nasional (BN), led by Umno, had lost the two-third majority and five states in the recent general election. He claimed that many people, including Umno members, had voted for the Opposition not because they supported them, but because they did not like the Umno leadersip. "But they are afraid to voice (out) their opinion," he told reporters after launching the book entitled "Management Astray: Resuscitating Ailing Organisations" written by the late Tan Sri Basir Ismail, here. Asked whether he supported Tengku Razaleigh's intention to contest the Umno presidency to rehabilitate the party, Dr Mahathir said the question of who is going to contest should be discussed after the EGM. Dr Mahathir said: "Probably there are others who are also keen to be (Umno) president, so we have to give everyone the opportunity. It's not a matter of the presidency, it's a matter concerning Umno. What we observe in the recent general election was that many Umno members had voted for the Opposition." He said the fear to speak up among Umno members was obvious as not a single party member dared to support him when he called for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down following the BN's major setback in the general election. "Yet I met a lot of these people who expressed dissatisfaction with the (current) leadership," he claimed. He claimed that Umno members now were afraid to voice their opinion on the party leadership because they feared action would be taken against them if they were to say something which the government did not like. Asked about the possibility of a split in Umno if Tengku Razaleigh were to challenge the party president, Dr Mahathir said when he was the Umno president and Prime Minister, Umno had been split twice but the members were reunited later. Dr Mahathir also proposed that Umno amended its constitution to provide for the establishment of a presidential council to advise the president because "we cannot trust one person with too much power". He said the council should not be elected by the party divisions because they could be manipulated, and should comprise independent people from within the party as well as from outside including from the professional circle. He said this was necessary because of late the Umno Supreme Council was found to be ineffective since members considered criticising the leadership as an act of disrespect. On the 25 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Malay charitable organisations to set up the Action Front For Malay Solidarity (BBPM) to unite the Malays regardless of their political ideologies, Dr Mahathir said it was good but the objectives of its formation must be studied. On the absence of Wanita Umno representatives in the Cabinet, he said they should protest but he heard that "the protest was only half-way and subsequently said, we support". On the attempt of buying members of parliament from the Barisan Nasional to join the opposition, he said cynically that it was done by both sides and "it is very democratic". -- BERNAMA