GUA Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is still undecided on whether he will defend his parliamentary seat in the 15th general election. 

The 11-term MP, better known as Ku Li, concedes that there may be new and better suited prospects in Umno with a higher chance of securing the seat.

“The question is not about veteran or young. It is about whether or not you can win. If (we are) betting on a new person, (and) there is a problem of integrity or various conditions that do not meet the people’s wishes, he can’t win, so what can he do?” he asked in a report by Malay daily Berita Harian. 

“If you field 100 candidates and 100 lose, you will lose the deposit again. 

“Like the parties that contested in Johor, they not only lost badly, but also lost the deposit,” he said. 

He said he believes the party’s central leadership and its grassroots members should have the final say on this issue.

“On my own I have had to use a three-cylinder engine,” he exclaimed, signifying the challenges to his old age. 

It was earlier reported that Tengku Razaleigh will not be defending the Gua Musang constituency in the next general election. 

He first became its MP in 1974, at that time known as Ulu Kelantan. The name change to Gua Musang only happened in 1986. 

To date, Tengku Razaleigh is the longest-serving Dewan Rakyat member with an unbroken record having been elected for 11 consecutive terms. – May 29, 2022.