Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos may have announced his intention to run as the party’s new youth chief, but his nomination does not seem to have been recognised by his party. 

“We did not receive any nomination form from him,” shrugged Federal Territories Umno Youth chief Razlan Rafii, who organised an event in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur last night, to introduce youth candidates for the upcoming party elections. 

During the event, Jamal was not present nor was his name mentioned when the category of Umno Youth chief was announced.

The three contenders mentioned were Paya Besar MP Mohd Shahar Abdullah, former deputy minister and senator Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and incumbent deputy Youth chief Khairul Azwan Harun.

Khairul was not able to attend. Meanwhile, Shahar and Asyraf introduced themselves to the audience and took questions after.

The event was attended by about 200 Umno Youth candidates and members from all over the country.

The Umno Youth elections are slated to take place on June 23.

Jamal previously took to Facebook to announce his intention to lead the party’s youth wing but did not explicitly state if he had submitted his nomination form.

"My intention is to rebuild the fighting spirit among Umno members nationwide, especially among the youth.

"Let's rise for the spirit of sacred struggle to help (the party), so it can once again enjoy the support and trust from the rakyat," he had written.

Malaysiakini has contacted Jamal for comment.

A key obstacle to his candidacy, however, could be that he is presently wanted by the police. 

On May 30, Jamal was charged under Section 290 of the Penal Code for public nuisance over a protest he staged outside the Selangor state secretariat building in Shah Alam last year.

Jamal was also being investigated under Section 34 of the Arms Act 1960 for carrying a firearm while in a drunk or disorderly state.

However, he went missing before the bail process could be completed.

He later resurfaced, but denied fleeing from police custody – claiming that he had only gone to the Tabung Haji building to withdraw money for his bail.

On May 29, Jamal promised to surrender at the Ampang Jaya district police headquarters the following day.

He did not show up, however, and instead appeared in a video that was taken at an undisclosed oil palm plantation. 

In the clip, Jamal said he feared for his safety and accused the government of victimising him.