BN can wrest Kelantan without 'cah keting' culture - Tengku Razaleigh 
By Nur Syuhada Shamsudin dan Sharifah Hunaini Syed Ismail
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Bergambar) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) stands a good chance to seize Kelantan from PAS in the 14th General Election (GE14) but the culture of 'cah keting' (internal sabotaging) can be a barrier, said UMNO veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
He said being the coalition's main component party in the state, Kelantan UMNO, led by Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, had been getting stronger and well-received as the desire for Kelantanese to make changes had been increasingly significant.
"UMNO is not just as strong as before. In fact, it has gained more strength and the spirit is at all-time high.
"The only thing is the 'cah keting' (culture). If that can be reduced and does not happen at all, I think we (BN) can wrest Kelantan from PAS easily. In fact, the people also yearn for the change. It seems that the Kelantanese in Kuala Lumpur are willing to go back to help," he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama here.
The 81-year-old Gua Musang UMNO Division chief, who is defending the Gua Musang parliamentary seat he has held since 1974, said such a culture was still a thorn in Kelantan UMNO's flesh in its attempt to recapture the state which had been ruled by PAS since 1990.
Tengku Razaleigh, fondly known as Ku Li, said compared to those days, the act of sabotaging the party was still happening now but in a more cunning way with the use of various platforms including social media.
"Everyone (seems so) ambitious to climb up the ladder (holding positions), not liking others to bypass them and so on," he said.
Commenting on the political scenario in Kelantan, the former Finance Minister said the split among the opposition pact, namely PAS, PKR and DAP, had witnessed PAS going solo now.
Tengku Razaleigh said the existence of PAS splinter party, Amanah, also had its effect on the hard-line Islamist party but it would not be an advantage for UMNO and BN.
"Now, that PAS is divided but that does not benefit UMNO in terms of the migration of members from PAS to UMNO. Even if there are, the number is small - perhaps, 0.5 or one per cent.
"However, the migration (of PAS members) to Amanah or being inactive are happening. Subsequently, PAS becomes weak," he said.
Meanwhile, Tengku Razaleigh said the aspiration of making Malaysia as a developed nation was something that would not be difficult to achieve due to its population of about 32 million and and other blessings.
"Our country is rich. We are blessed with all kinds of wealth (and resources) that can move us forward.
"If the young people are well-nurtured with various skills of their choice as required by the world, the (target of) 700 million population in the ASEAN market will indeed await," he said.
Tengku Razaleigh is running to become the longest serving elected representative should he win in a three-cornered contest in the GE14 on May 9.
The veteran leader will take on Abdullah Hussein of PAS and Mohd Nor Hussin of PKR-PPBM.
In the last general election, in 2013, Tengku Razaleigh retained the seat with a majority of 8,413 votes in a straight fight with Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah of PAS.
-- BERNAMA
