Harapan pounces on KJ's 'clean up Umno' vow

GE15 | Khairy Jamaluddin's vow to "cleanse" Umno has become campaign material for some Pakatan Harapan candidates.

At a Harapan rally in Penang last night, the coalition’s Bukit Gelugor candidate Ramkarpal Singh said Khairy - BN's candidate for Sungai Buloh - had inadvertently implied that Umno was "kotor" (dirty).

"KJ (Khairy) has admitted that Umno is 'kotor' and needs to be cleaned. You heard it yourself right? He said it, not us (Harapan).

"He said Umno leaders were not fit to be leaders and hence he wants to reform Umno.

"Ladies and gentlemen, (if Khairy believes) Umno is not fit to be the next government should we let Umno back?" asked Ramkarpal.

He was speaking at a rally at the Penang Chinese Town Hall in George Town attended by some 500 people.

‘Only now sesat?’

Meanwhile, Harapan's candidate for Ipoh Timur Howard Lee took issue with Khairy for claiming that Umno was only now "sesat" (lost its way).

He told Malaysiakini Khairy appeared very comfortable when he was a cabinet minister for two terms.

"We never heard Khairy say Umno was 'sesat' when he was a cabinet minister or when he was the Rembau MP. He only said it after he was booted to Sungai Buloh," Lee said.

Umno was merely a vessel that in itself, could not get lost, Lee added

"Only the captain and the passengers can be lost. Keeping Khairy or (caretaker prime minister) Ismail Sabri Yaakob would not solve Umno's woes," he said.

However, Lee noted that any effort to "cleanse" Umno was a noble one and should be supported, but the party should be cleansed first before seeking to rule the country.

KJ the reformist

Two days ago, Khairy spoke at the Kelab Rahman Putra in Sungai Buloh in which he described Umno as "sesat".

"To be frank, Malays are sentimental towards Umno. But Umno is now 'sesat' and needs to be guided back to the correct path.

"I want to be elected (as an MP) to ensure that Ismail Sabri remains as prime minister. After that, we will clean up Umno and restore public confidence.

"I am a reformist within Umno. You cannot silence me. That is why I was sent to Sungai Buloh. If no one speaks up, nothing will change,” he said.

"My struggle now is not just for Sungai Buloh, but for the country, Umno and BN. If I win, God willing, we will see big changes starting from Sungai Buloh and ending in Putrajaya," he added.

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