The Umno election in June gave some observers the impression that the party is unlikely to change despite its defeat in the 14th general election.

However, the party’s Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin argued that while it seems as if Umno would continue to offer more the same as it did all these years, its members are in fact ready for change.

He explained that the contest for Umno presidency, whereby Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had won, works on an electoral college system.

If judged by popular vote, however, Khairy said the former deputy prime minister had only garnered about 37,000 votes, compared to Khairy's 32,000 votes and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s 20,000.

Since both himself and Tengku Razaleigh had campaigned on a pro-reform platform, Khairy said this meant there were some 52,000 pro-reform votes compared to the 37,000 that voted for Zahid.

“That tells you that the ground was ready for change. They may have not understood what I was trying to say, they may have not understood or agreed with 100 percent of I was trying to do because many of them still say I’m too liberal (and so on). But, they wanted change […]

“So, it is easy to look at Umno as a fossilised party that hasn’t changed, but I think the members, the rank-and-file are ready for that change. I think that will take place in 2021,” he said last night.

He was speaking as a panellist at a talk titled “The Way Forward for Malaysia” together with the economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram in Kuala Lumpur. The event was organised by the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Malaysia and was attended by about 170 people.

Khairy said when he looked at the popular vote results, that was when he decided that he wants to contest for the party's top post again in 2021.

For comparison, Zahid had won in 78 Umno divisions, Khairy, 53, and Tengku Razaleigh, 28.

As for Umno’s overtures towards PAS and its more vocal rhetoric on racial and religious issues since the election, Khairy said not all Umno members, including himself, agree with the direction the party has taken.

“I believe in a more centrist Umno, a more progressive Umno – the true DNA of Umno that I’d joined, at least. I will continue to make sure that there is at least a voice to ensure that Umno doesn’t turn further to the right […]

“I think we need to sort this identity crisis very soon. This weekend, we’ll have our first general assembly since becoming an opposition party and we’re all looking forward to listen to what the president has to say; the direction that he wants to take the party.

“At the moment, if you were to ask me, I think my party has been quite rudderless over the past few months. I think it is in desperate need of leadership and in desperate need of direction, as far as its identity is concerned,” he said.