KUALA LUMPUR: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah wants to see younger Umno members take charge of the party come the end of the month, when its elections are held.
The veteran politician said the younger generations of Umno members needed to come to the fore and offer themselves as candidates for key posts in the party.
This, he said, was essential in order to revolutionise and rebuild the Umno leadership into a lineup that was both strong and trusted by the grassroots.
“I discussed this with some of the younger leaders a day or two ago. The younger leaders need to offer themselves for posts to the grassroots... only then will (Umno) have a team of young leaders.
“Do not be afraid, as Allah is always there to help. We (veterans) will also help you. We need a new team.
“The old ones, people like me, there is no need (for them to contest).”
Tengku Razaleigh, who is a popular choice for party president amongst grassroots members, said he was prepared to help younger leaders at any time, should they need it.
Asked about the many calls for him to contest the presidency, he appeared to hint that he was willing to shoulder the responsibility.
“It seems like people would like me to be around. It is not a 50-50 thing. If they want me to stand, I will contest,” he said.
However, Tengku Razaleigh said he did not think he was suited for the post, as he was already 81.
“If I was 18, I would marry again. But I am now 81... I left the cabinet in 1985. There are many young and capable leaders out there who are more educated and have had much exposure, so we should allow younger people to lead Umno,” he said.
Reminded that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was still capable of leading the country as a nonagenarian, Tengku Razaleigh said things were different as Dr Mahathir was a “special person”.
Meanwhile, he said he would look closely at the list of presidential candidates to see if they were capable of managing Umno well.
As such, Tengku Razaleigh asked everyone to be patient and not to push him to make a decision on whether or not he would contest the presidency, especially since there was still a week left before nominations were closed.
On the party itself, Ku Li said Umno can be expected to return ever stronger and more stable, especially if the party leadership could be helmed by younger people.
“Umno will be strong again. There is no possibility that Umno will be weal, because the grassroots are everywhere. We meet them everywhere we go.
“These are members who are not racist. In the kampung, if you meet them, they will look after you, buy you food. They are good people,” he said.