The resignation of the Nothing2Hide organiser Khairul Anwar Rahmat from his posts in Umno is a blow to the ruling party's rejuvenation, a DAP member says.
Sheikh Omar Ali, who works with Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong, described Khairul Anwar as a moderate, progressive leader, whose decision to quit was disappointing.
In a statement today, Sheikh Omar told of how the then Johor Umno Youth vice-chief had resolved a tiff between Umno and DAP, after Liew was chased out of a Ramdan bazaar by Umno members.
"A day after the incident, Khairul Anwar contacted me and apologised for what happened. He then proposed that our (DAP) entourage go to the bazaar again with his group on a different day. That event went smoothly," Sheikh Omar ( on the left ) said.
"I remember during our phone conversation, he stressed how important new politics was to him. The threats that blocked our entourage from the bazaar did not suit his hope for new politics.
"When his name popped up in the media again as the organiser of "Nothing2Hide", I could feel his bravery in breaking Umno taboos, which have always closed doors on public discussions involving current and controversial issues," he added.
Community work
On Friday, Khairul Anwar announced that he had resigned as Kluang Umno Youth chief, Johor Umno Youth vice-chief and head of the Umno legal secretariat, effective July 11.
This followed an announced by his law firm, Khairul Anwar Group, that the move was to enable him to carry out community work at home and abroad, as well as concentrate on expanding the firm and to concentrate on several negotiation cases.
Khairul Anwar last entered the limelight after his Nothing2Hide 1MDB forum turned into a major fiasco.
The dialogue was meant for Prime Minister Najib Razak to answer questions over the troubled government-owned investment fund 1MDB.
However the June 5 forum was abruptly cancelled when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, one of the major critics of 1MDB, turned up at the venue in Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), where Umno headquarters is located.
