exclusive Party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has mooted a Umno special general meeting to allow its 'special member' - Dr Mahathir Mohamad - to air his views on his spat with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Razaleigh, who heads the party's Gua Musang division in Kelantan, said he made the suggestion when he attended the state Umno meeting in June but had yet to receive a response.

"Let's listen to him (Mahathir) rather than let him talk to others, or let others listen to him," he told malaysiakini at last week's 70-minute interview held at his palatial home-cum-office in Ampang dubbed as the 'White House'.

He said Umno should convene the special general assembly "to let Mahathir has his say".

Razaleigh added that the party leaders should not object as the former prime minister "is a special member of Umno who was not forced out of office but voluntarily gave it up".

"Now he wants to say (something), (we should) invite him, treat him like a godfather, to come and speak to Umno members."

Umno Baru founder

However, the 69-year-old Umno politician said based on the current 'mood' within the party, he was not optimistic that Umno would allow such a special congress.

"Why be so afraid? There's nothing to hide. Let's come clean, give him the forum, he is not going to be prime minister again," he repeatedly stressed.

Razaleigh's statement echoed a similar request made by Mahathir himself, who had complained that his criticism of the present administration was blacked out in the mainstream media.

Razaleigh also said that by barring Mahathir from officiating the annual general meeting of Umno divisions - currently being held nationwide - may cause unhappiness on the ground.

"Why not? He is the ex-president of Umno for 22 years. This Umno was created by him - the old Umno was declared unlawful and de-registered," he pointed out.

In recent months, Mahathir has made scathing remarks against his handpicked successor, Abdullah.

Mahathir has insisted satisfactory answers on why several projects initiated under his premiership were shelved by the present government.

While claiming that it was nothing personal, Mahathir had on a number of occasion said he had made the wrong choice in naming Abdullah as his replacement.

On Monday, he upped the ante by calling for the prime minister to step down.

Go talk to Dr M

Razaleigh - who once served as finance minister under Mahathir - said his former boss would not stop his criticisms until "he gets what he wants".

"He wants explanations not from the junior chaps - he was everybody's boss before - so he expected his successor to come and explain to him.

"Pak Lah (Abdullah) as somebody who took over from him (Mahathir), should jump into a car and drive over to him, (and) talk to him."

Razaleigh had challenged Mahathir in a bitterly fought party polls in 1987. He lost by a wafer-thin majority of 43 votes.

After the defeat, Razaleigh and his supporters formed Semangat 46 to challenge Umno, but the splinter party returned to Umno's fold seven years later.

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Photos by Kuek Ser Kuang Keng