SHAH ALAM - Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has been appointed as the party's adviser, sources say.
According to The Star, the appointment was done spontaneously to strengthen Umno.
"The appointment was made during a meeting between the party's top leadership," said a source, who is one of the top leaders in Umno.
It was understood that Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan; Umno vice-presidents Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail as well as Barisan Nasional (BN) treasurer-general Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani had attended a special briefing with the president on Sunday afternoon at the World Trade Centre.
Tengku Razaleigh, who is the country's longest-serving MP had lost the Gua Musang Parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Tengku Razaleigh, better known as Ku Li, contested under BN had obtained 21,663 votes.
However, Perikatan Nasional candidate Mohd Azizi Abu Naim had won with a slim difference of 163 votes, as he received a total of 21,826 votes.
For information, Ku Li started contesting in Gua Musang since 1974 when it was still known as Ulu Kelantan area.