Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin remains hopeful that Sabah Umno will remain true to Umno and BN, even though it has joined the opposition bloc Gabungan Bersatu Sabah (GBS).

He said joining the opposition bloc in Sabah did not necessarily mean Sabah Umno must leave Umno.

"The alliance could be a platform for them (Sabah Umno) to work on issues concerning Sabah. But that does not mean Sabah Umno needs to leave Umno," the Rembau MP told reporters at the Parliament lobby today. 

It was reported yesterday that Sabah Umno would be joining other opposition parties in the state to form the opposition bloc GBS.

According to the New Straits Times, party heads would be meeting soon to discuss the coalition's top leadership.

Meanwhile, on a separate matter, Khairy stated he agreed with former minister Nazri Abdul Aziz who urged Najib Abdul Razak to step aside and to give space to current Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to lead the party forward. 

Nazri, who is Padang Rengas MP, said the former Umno chairperson must emulate Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who initially kept clear and allowed his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to lead as the fifth prime minister. The same for the latter when it came to him to pass the baton to Najib, said Nazri.

To this, Khairy today said Nazri's view coincided with other in Umno who felt their former chief must allow the current leadership to chart a new course for the party.

"I agree that new leaders in Umno must be given full room to chart a new course. This is why the former president and former presidential candidate too, must give room (to the Umno new leadership)," he quipped, referring to his unsuccessful bid to run for Umno's top post in the party elections last June.

This comes after several Umno leaders have attempted to distance themselves from the embattled former prime minister, his ongoing corruption charges and probes in relation to the 1MDB scandal.

Another former minister, Zainuddin Mydin, had opined that criticism levelled against Najib was a manifestation of the party's disappointment with his successor Zahid for allowing himself to be overshadowed by Najib.