Kelantan Umno today is the handiwork of two princes, Ku Li (Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah) and Ku Deen (Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen). The state Umno was formed by their cousin Tengku Indera Petra, the elder brother of the former Kelantan Sultan Yahya Petra, our sixth King.

Indera quit Kelantan Umno after PAS led by Asri Muda trounced Umno in the 1959 polls. He died in 1985. Ku Li and Ku Deen were ordered by Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak to rebuild the party.

Almost all the Kelantan Umno leaders of today are former proteges of Ku Li and Ku Deen. In the 1987 Umno polls, Kelantan was solidly behind Ku Li's bid for the Umno presidency.

Ku Li challenged Mahathir Mohamad not because of greed but because of principles. He and Musa Hitam wanted to see democracy flourish in Malaysia and in Umno, now that the country had come of age (Malaysia turned 30 in 1987).

Ku Deen backed Ku Li. But after the victory of Mahathir and Ghafar Baba, the majority of Kelantan Umno went with Ku Deen into Mahathir's and Ghafar's Umno Baru.

Ku Li and the others of Team B tried to revive the old Umno which was declared null and void by Kelantanese judge Harun Hashim. They failed because Mahathir as the home minister stopped their efforts.

Having seen the doors of the Barisan Nasional shut on him by Mahathir and Ghafar, and the strong support the then King Sultan Mahmood Iskandar of Johor gave to Team A, Ku Li and his closest supporters formed the opposition party Semangat '46.

It lost two general elections to the Barisan Nasional.

Those closely associated with Musa Hitam went to Umno Baru because they saw no future in an Umno-ish opposition party. And, more importantly, because they wanted to ensure that Umno Baru had a Team B to check Team A's powers.

The people associated with Ku Deen, including (former Kelantan menteri besar) Mohamad Yaakob, Zaid Ibrahim, Awang Adek Hussein and Mustapa Mohamed, then joined Umno Baru.

Ibrahim Ali the Raja Katak was the first person to backstab Ku Li and leave Semangat 46 for Umno Baru in 1991. Ibrahim and Annuar Musa, who went with Ku Deen into Umno Baru, angered Ku Li in 1993 by installing a pretender to the Kelantan throne in Peringat, because the Kelantan Sultan Ismail Petra was backing Ku Li.

Ku Li never forgave Ibrahim for this.

When Ku Li and his followers joined Umno Baru, Ibrahim offered himself as Ku Li's servant and robot, doing Ku Li's bidding. Ku Li associated with Ibrahim, to deceive Mahathir and to make him think that mighty Ku Li had become a buffoon after years in the wilderness.

Ibrahim, it is believed, cut a deal with Ku Li whereby he would support Ku Li for prime minister and Ku Li would, in turn, support him for Kelantan menteri besar. Ku Li actually cut a deal with all Team B members of Kelantan Umno, whereby they would listen to his advice if they made it to the prime ministership or menteri besarship of Kelantan.

Ku Li gets along okay with Mustapa Mohamed, his protege. He and Mustapa did not enjoy a good relationship when Daim Zainuddin was around. Their friendship resumed after Daim was dropped by Mahathir from the cabinet in 2001.

Today, only a few Kelantan Umno leaders notably Rozali Isohak and Illani Isahak support Ku Li for Umno president or prime minister. The others think that he is too old and should be adviser to Kelantan Umno and the party as a whole.

Ku Li's bid for the presidency today is much different from his bid for the presidency in 1987. Back then, it was about toppling strongman Mahathir.

Today, it is about making sure Mahathirism as a culture (no contest) in Umno is gradually chipped away. Win or lose, it is not a loss for Ku Li because whoever is prime minister from the old Team B would have to listen to this intellectual and progressive prince from Kelantan.

Ku Li will likely retire in 2011 when his nephew, the Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Ismail Petra, becomes the Yang Di Pertuan Agung of Malaysia.

It does not matter to him if he fails to become prime minister. His place in Malaysian history is secure and he will be remembered forever as the modern-day Hang Jebat to Mahathir's Hang Tuah.