Khairy tipped for Umno return before Sabah polls, with Kepala Batas in sight

Summary

• Khairy Jamaluddin is reportedly set to rejoin Umno, with party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said to have personally given his approval.

• Khairy is reportedly also being considered as a BN candidate for the next general election in Kepala Batas, his late father-in-law Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s former seat.

• He was expelled from Umno in January 2023, in what was seen as Zahid’s purge of internal rivals after he criticised the party’s leadership.

Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin may make a comeback into Umno before the Nov 29 Sabah polls, Berita Harian reported today.

Quoting an anonymous source, the daily reported that Khairy has already received the “blessing” of Umno’s leadership - most notably its president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - to rejoin the party.

The report said the former Rembau MP is also being considered as a candidate for the 16th general election in Kepala Batas, a seat previously held by former prime minister and his father-in-law, the late Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The signal of approval was reportedly personally conveyed by Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, to Khairy, when they attended the wedding of the daughter of Perlis Umno liaison chief, Rozabil Abdul Rahman, last Sunday.

"During the meeting, Zahid himself informed Khairy to submit his membership form to rejoin Umno.

"Khairy is expected to assist in Umno and BN’s campaign in the upcoming Sabah state election. This is because some of the candidates the party plans to field are around his age and his political peers," the source reportedly said, adding, however, that to date, Umno has yet to receive Khairy's membership application.

Sacked for defiance

Khairy, once touted as a potential Umno presidential candidate and a vocal critic of the party’s practices, was expelled on Jan 27, 2023.

The move was widely seen as a purge by Zahid against potential threats within Umno. Khairy had previously sought to challenge him for leadership of the party.

Umno also dismissed its then supreme council member and former Tanjong Karang MP, Noh Omar, after he requested to be released from the party following a six-year suspension.

In a statement, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan announced that both were removed for breaching party discipline during the 15th general election, though the specific details of their offences were not disclosed.

Khairy has since defended his criticisms of Umno and said he would not appeal the decision, nor join any other political parties, citing his loyalty to Umno.

Several others were suspended for six years, including Sembrong MP Hishammuddin Hussein and the then Umno Youth deputy chief, Shahril Hamdan Suffian - a close ally of Khairy.

Narrow defeat

In the 15th general election, Khairy was fielded in Sungai Buloh, against former MIC treasurer-general R Ramanan, who had just joined Pakatan Harapan, and quickly rose to become its deputy information chief.

He suffered a narrow defeat in the seven-cornered contest to Ramanan, who secured 50,943 to win the seat, with a 2,693-vote majority.

Khairy was moved to Sungai Buloh after being forced to make way for Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan to contest the Rembau seat.

Khairy previously also served as the youth and sports minister, as well as science, technology and innovation minister, during which he was directly involved in the development of the MySejahtera application, and the procurement of vaccines for the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He now co-hosts the popular Keluar Sekejap podcast with Shahril, and also serves as a radio presenter on Hot FM, in addition to being a brand ambassador for several prominent companies.

Malaysiakini has reached out to Khairy’s office for a response.

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