Four days after a rumour broke out that a section of the opposition is trying to lobby Umno Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the new opposition leader, the proposal received its first positive signal from a senior PAS leader.

According to a news report by Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia today, PAS ulama council chief Harun Taib has said it is not impossible for Tengku Razaleigh to replace PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as the opposition leader.

If Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, enjoys the support of Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters, he might lead the opposition coalition, stated Harun.

However he said that all parties in Pakatan will scrutinise Ku Li’s performance before accepting the former Semangat 46 president as their leader if circumstances arise.

“We will examine his performance first. If he has many followers or the majority support within the opposition parties, most probably he would be the opposition leader.

“The same goes for Anwar, he can negotiate and if he cannot get the majority support, maybe he would not be sitting there any more,” Utusan quoted Harun as saying.

“He (Anwar) won't be the opposition leader forever. If someone else enjoys the majority support of the opposition, that person would be the chief,” he added.

The former Terengganu PAS commissioner was said to be a strong advocate of the Umno-PAS unity government proposal, which had been shot down repeatedly by the party leadership and members.

Utusan , which is seen as the mouthpiece of Umno, has been harping on the rumour of Ku Li replacing Anwar since last Friday, after Ku Li launched the his new NGO Angkatan Amanah Merdeka.

Comprising of ex-ministers and current BN MPs who have been marginalised in their respective parties, the NGO aims to revive and promote the ideas of Malaysia’s first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman relating to multiracialism, democracy and the rule of law.

Rumour started by Independent MP Zahrain

The rumour was first started by Independent MP for Bayan Baru Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, who told Utusan that the Pakatan leadership had met Ku Li to convince him to head the opposition coalition for fear that Anwar may be jailed for sodomy.

According to him, Pakatan needs a leader who can neutralise both DAP and PAS, and lead the three parties in the next general election.

The Malay daily today published another analysis by its editor Zulkiflee Bakar, claiming that Anwar, with his many moral issues, had become a liability for Pakatan, especially PAS that attempts to portray high morality.

He also pointed out that a recent survey showed that the support of Chinese and Indians for Anwar has dropped, and the crowds attending Anwar’s events are also dwindling fast.

However, DAP chairperson Karpal Singh insisted that Razaleigh is no alternative for Anwar Ibrahim, according to a report in The Star today.

He said that even when several PKR MPs deserted Anwar and left Pakatan, DAP and PAS did not ask for the opposition leader’s post and wanted it to remain with Anwar.

“Without Anwar, the opposition and the nation would not have witnessed the political tsunami during the March 2008 general election,” he said.