Newly-minted Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said he would leave it to incoming prime minister to decide whether he would be made cabinet minister.

Khairy said neither him nor the Umno Youth movement would “force” Najib to appoint him a minister.

"It is Najib's prerogative and it is not necessary for me to demand it. I do not have aspirations (to be a minister) nor want to force my way into the cabinet. It’s up to Najib to decide," he said.

Questioned on the possibility that outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi could pressure Najib into naming his son-in-law a minister, the Umno Youth chief said, "Why would he do that? I think he would not force it."

Khairy was also asked about his campaign strategies for the Umno Youth post.

In a three-cornered fight, it was necessary to win about 40 percent of the delegates support, he said.

khairy jamaluddin umno youth chief 250309 "Throughout the six-month campaigning period, I went to their homes, got to know them better and had football matches with them.

“I am glad that the hard work of getting the support of more than 300 Umno Youth members finally paid off," he said.

Yesterday, Khairy bagged 304 votes, or 38 percent, from the 791 Youth delegates to win the much-coveted post.

The new Youth leader also commented on the commotion between two groups following the announcement of the poll results late last night. According to him, the fracas was due to friction between supporters of rival leaders.

"I will try and have already urged the movement to close ranks," he said.

Wrong move to ban new media

Khairy had earlier spent about an hour with journalists who are covering the 59th Umno General Assembly in PWTC’s Dewan Redang.

The Umno Youth chief was also asked to respond to the party’s decision banning a number of new media organisations from covering the assembly.

Khairy conceded that the party had made the wrong move in dealing with the matter.

"I will make it a point for Umno Youth to look into the issue. It is wrong for the party to isolate the new media," he said.

Before the assembly kicked off, Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the party had barred journalists from six online media.

They include Malaysiakini, Nut Graph, Malaysian Insider, Siasah, and Chinese websites Merdeka Review and Laksou.