Amid growing rumblings of a snap poll in Malaysia, former Umno ministers Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein have appealed to return to the once dominant party’s fold.
In January 2023, Malaysia’s former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, 50, was sacked from Umno for “violating party discipline”, while former defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein, 64, was suspended for six years.
In a Facebook post on Monday (March 16), Khairy expressed his gratitude to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Umno’s president.
“He (Zahid) has welcomed me back to my old home, the only home I’ve ever known,” Khairy wrote in his post.
Khairy added that he has formally applied for the termination of his party membership to be rescinded.
“At a time when the country’s politics is faced with uncertainties and turbulent seas, it is very important that Umno, which was established to unite Malaysians, be strengthened.”
Describing the once-dominant party as an ark, Khairy said he is contented to simply be an ordinary contributing member, as long as it helps Umno to “sail through the waves and storms of time”.
He ended his post by saying: “I am coming home.”
In separate Facebook posts on the same evening, Ahmad Zahid and Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki confirmed the meeting.
Both struck reconciliatory tones and described the request, along with those from other suspended and former members of the party, as “comforting and uplifting”.
The secretary-general also revealed that former defence minister Hishammuddin was among those who have formally applied to return to the party’s fold.
While Hishammuddin has not yet posted an official statement on this, he indicated in an Instagram post on March 12 that he would return to “continue fighting for Umno” if the party’s leadership decides to withdraw his suspension.
The 64-year-old has been a member of Parliament for Sembrong since 2004.
Both Khairy and Hishammuddin were removed in 2023 when Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that Umno would undergo “mass cleaning” to get rid of “saboteurs” and those who have “shot themselves in the foot”.
The likely restoration of their respective memberships come amidst rumblings of early polls, even though Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the media in December that his priority was to implement reforms and alleviate cost of living issues for Malaysians.
Earlier this month, CNA reported that grassroots and government agencies have been placed on standby for a possible general election from mid-2026.
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Rebecka Paris
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