KUALA LUMPUR: Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin remained coy when pressed on whether he had submitted a formal application to rejoin Umno.
He told reporters the matter would be revealed at the appropriate time.
“I will inform the media when the time is right,” he said after serving as a panellist at an Umno Youth Chief’s event at Menara Dato Onn today.
During the session, Khairy thanked Umno Youth chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh for having the guts to invite him back to the party’s grounds.
“I want to thank brother Akmal and all of Umno Youth Malaysia because today, Umno Youth has shown courage for two reasons,” he said.
“First, for organising Rimbun 1.0 when no one else has. Umno Youth dared to tackle sensitive issues. Thank you for inviting KJ to WTC,” he added.
Akmal quickly responded in kind.
“I too want to thank KJ for accepting our invitation,” he said.
“We held Rimbun 1.0 because we believe in courage, courage for the nation’s future and courage to invite KJ for Umno’s future,” he noted.
The programme focused on the reformation of the education system in the artificial intelligence era and the empowerment of teachers’ institutions.
On 30 October, a source indicated Khairy was poised to rejoin Umno before the November Sabah election.
The move reportedly had the approval of party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The source said Zahid personally endorsed Khairy’s return during a wedding in Perlis on Sunday.
Khairy was expelled from Umno in January 2023.
Three days later, he asked the media for a couple of weeks to address the speculation.
The former Rembau MP stressed he was sacked, not a voluntary departure.
In a social media post, Khairy shared advice from Sabah Barisan Nasional chairman Bung Mokhtar urging him to stay committed if he rejoins and “not leave again.”
He also attached a screenshot of a news report on his expulsion, adding: “There’s plenty of ‘receipts’ on the Internet (of my expulsion). Don’t be so illiterate.”
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stated no party discussions had taken place regarding Khairy’s potential return.
