Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi welcomed Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah into the race for the Umno presidency today but urged the party to shun the fierce contest that split it into two over three decades ago.
Recalling the Team A-Team B war in 1987 that also involved the Kelantan prince commonly called Ku Li, Zahid said the former’s candidacy now demonstrated that Umno was committed to democracy in the party.
Identifying himself as a vice president performing the role of the Umno president, Zahid also stressed that the larger objective was to restore the party and not the pursuit of personal ambitions.
“Umno must not be torn in two as what happened in 1987, even with the reinterpretation of this openness (to contest),” he said in a statement.
“The priority to preserve Umno members is greater than any posts contested. Because any post is a form of trust and not the benefit of politics. Umno no longer walks in the corridors of power.”
He said the internal party election should not become an excuse to assassinate the characters of the hopefuls and the contest must be approached in a spirit of cooperation.
Zahid said he was willing to accept whatever outcome in the race to lead Umno, reminding contestants that the intent was to help the party face its foes outside and not to make enemies within.
“Don’t enter the contest with the intention of gaining a Pyrrhic victory.”
Ku Li’s bitter contest with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the presidency of Umno caused a schism that split the party in two, leading to its eventual deregistration and plunging the country into a constitutional crisis.
The defeated Ku Li left to form the splinter Semangat 46, which he closed down in 1996 when he returned to Umno. – Malay Mail