Major realignment possible in Malaysian politics

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Banking executive Nazir Razak, the Malaysian prime minister’s brother, has been quietly meeting with business leaders in his UK headquarters and in Kuala Lumpur to attempt to form a well-funded new, nonpartisan political entity to reach out to all races and to end the divisive racial politics that have poisoned the atmosphere of the country.

Nazir, 49, is said to have been meeting with moderates including Chinese leaders in the campaign, to formulate the new political party, which would, if successful, dramatically redraw the country’s political landscape, fracturing party lines laid down before the British colonists handed Malaysia back to its own people in 1957.

The plan is considered a long shot. But as an indication of how desperate the group is over the current situation, Nazir would be not only going against his brother but against the legacy of his own father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, one of the founders of UMNO who served as the country’s second prime minister.

Nazir is said to want to remain in the background, restrained by sentiments over his father’s role in the founding of the country. However, reports of the plan have been widely circulated in Kuala Lumpur although Nazir is expected to publicly deny involvement. Instead, the public face is expected to be Saifuddin Abdullah, a former UMNO minister described as one of the more moderate and liberal-minded politicians in the party

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