Money politics in Umno can be curbed only if the party limits the tenure of its president to three terms, said supreme council member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

"In my opinion, if someone becomes a president or prime minister for too long, all the power will be consolidated in his hand, be it financially or that of the police.

"Then who will dare to fight? All will be scared and (will) only say 'Yes Boss' although Umno does not belong to any individual or family," he said in an interview with local political tabloid Era Baru.

Copies of the tabloid were distributed for free during the Umno general assembly this morning at the party headquarters in the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Razaleigh said ideally Umno does not even need a deputy president of vice-presidents.

"It would suffice to appoint 50 Supreme Council members. If the prime minister need a deputy, he could pick someone from among these members.

"For example, Umno was in a state of chaos after the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim from the party and government...and how difficult it was for Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) to choose another
deputy.

"Najib's (Abdul Razak) name was mentioned, but it was Dollah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) who was appointed. After that (the appointment), how difficult it was to pacify Umno members. It was chaotic..," he said.

Personal views

Razaleigh, who challenged Mahathir for the Umno presidency in 1987, said these were his personal views and added that he was airing them not to gain personal mileage but for the good of the party.

The veteran politician had also offered himself to contest for the Umno presidency this year against Abdullah but failed to secure the required nominations.

In the interview, he also stressed that he was not a greedy or envious person and whatever he did was for the good of Umno and the Malays.

"We become leaders in order to lead the Malays, not make our family rich. That's wrong." he said.

On his political future, Razaleigh said: "My agenda is for the future of the Malays and country, nothing more than that."

"For 44 years I have been with Umno and witnessed the ups and downs of the Malays. Actually the Malays are still lagging behind. We said the Malays have changed, and the country has progressed, but the Malays are still at the same old notch.

"I would like to reiterate here that Umno belongs to three million members, and not to any individual or any particular family...

"If Umno is going to be inherited by a certain individual, that is the actual cause of split within the party, not because of money politics and not because of a 'small' guy like me...," added the former finance minister.