Ku Li: I will not drop out of race - The Star

By Ian McIntyre

KOTA BARU: Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will not drop out of the race for the Umno presidency even if party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi steps down.

“I offered myself not because of the Pak Lah (factor) but to rejuvenate Umno and to restore direction as the future now looks bleak. It is also to revive nation-building,” he said.

Tengku Razaleigh, the Gua Musang Umno division chief and a former party vice-president, has offered to vie for the presidency in the party polls scheduled in December. However, he has to garner 30% nominations from the Umno divisions to enable him to contest.

Earlier, when launching the Kelantan Tomoi (Thai Kickboxing) Association at Kedai Buluh, Kuala Besar here, he said that among the reasons why he offered to contest the post was to bring back Umno’s “soul”.

He said that to revive Umno’s soul in its political struggle, he had to reach out to all levels, starting with the grassroots.

Tengku Razaleigh said he chose to kick off his campaign in the PAS heartland of Pengkalan Chepa because “PAS is strong here and Umno is disillusioned.”

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/30/nation/20080530180552&sec=nation]