Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah made a hard-hitting speech in which he attack the current Umno leadership in his speech at the Gua Musang division's special meeting today.
He lamented that Umno is now suffering from the perception that it no longer cares for the poor, that it has become a party of 'Malay fanatics' and that its leaders are corrupt.
From the Malay viewpoint, Razaleigh said, Umno is seen as no longer struggling for Malay rights, not concerned about the Malay language, culture and the economic well-being of the poor in the community.
Apart from this, he said, the Malays are also concerned over the lack of commitment in Umno to defend the dignity and sovereignty of the Malay royal institution.
As for the non-Malays, in an obvious reference to Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein - Razaleigh said: "Umno is seen as a party made up of ‘Malay fanatics’ who, for unknown reasons, like to brandish the keris when scolding other races."
The third perception, according to him, is that Umno is a party which encouraged money politics or an entity which is ‘rich at the top and poor at the bottom’.
"A party which is corrupt, infested with ‘buaya darat’ (land dwelling crocodiles) and ‘yu-yu laut’ (sharks) who have no qualms about sweeping up and swallowing projects and government contracts as well as the rights of the poor of all races.
"This image is hated by all races, not only the Malays," said the former Umno vice-president.
Razaleigh also noted that in the recently concluded elections, many Chinese and Indians were seen flying the PAS flag and had voted for the Islamic party’s candidates in Umno strongholds.
"Why? Have they been put under a spell or Islamicised by PAS people? No. They did it because they believe that PAS, based on Islamic principles, is fairer than Umno to non-Malays.
"They say PAS people fear God, so they are afraid to tell lies or commit sin against God’s creations, regardless of race and religion.
"They say (PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan menteri besar) Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz is better, cleaner and more trustworthy than most of the Umno Kelantan leaders."
"I understand that PAS is Umno’s rival. But this is not the way Malay-Muslims try to defeat their rivals from the same race and religion. We were not taught how to entice the enemy. We appeared to be using the culture and tactics or gangsters.
"In the end, we lost. Not because Umno policies are not good, but because Umno people are not good and they are the ones who ruined the party’s image."
"The Malay spirit in Umno people has been replaced with the ‘spirit of the stomach’. Money has become the political plaything and power in Umno."
In his opening speech at the Gua Musang Umno division’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM), the 72-year-old former finance minister also launched a very thinly-veiled attack against Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin.
"There are those who graduate from Oxford, Harvard and so forth but are not intelligent, not wise and culturally illiterate. Such people are not qualified to be Umno leaders.
"Why? Because they don’t possess enough ‘Malay spirit’ in their hearts, are not wise and do not excel in speaking or explaining (issues) to the people. "They are probably qualified to be academic researchers, but not leaders for the Malay-Muslim race," he said.
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