UMNO veteran Tengku Razaleigh Tengku Hamzah wants to take into consideration the sentiments of all Malaysians – non-Malays included – before appointing members of the new Umno advisory council.

The Gua Musang MP, who chairs the council, said he will begin forming the line-up after this weekend’s Umno general assembly.

“I have just accepted the role of chairman. I haven’t formed the council (line-up) yet,” he told The Malaysian Insight in a recent interview.

He said apart from noting the issues raised and reactions of delegates at the assembly, he wants to observe how Malaysians, including non-Malays, respond to the party before deciding on the council members.

“I want to observe the situation. Not the reactions of Umno members alone, but I want to also observe the response of Malays as a whole, and the reactions of non-Malays.

“It does not revolve solely around what happens at the Umno general assembly.”

Tengku Razaleigh, better known as Ku Li, said there is no urgency to appoint council members as there is still a lot of political uncertainty in the country.

“Wait and see first. We just lost the general election. The situation is not yet calm.”

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced the formation of the council shortly after being elected to the top post in the party polls held after the May 9 general election.

The council will help decide the direction of the party, now in the opposition for the first time in 61 years.

Five MPs from Umno recently quit the party, leaving the Barisan Nasional lynchpin with just 49 in the Dewan Rakyat.

In the 14th general election, Umno won 54 parliamentary seats – down from the 133 it secured in the 2013 polls.

Following the bruising GE14 defeat, several Umno leaders and grassroots members have called for a revamp of the party’s direction to ensure it remains relevant and serves as a strong opposition. – September 30, 2018.