Former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was among several prominent UMNO leaders that were sacked by the party for alleged disciplinary breaches. The former UMNO Youth Chief was joined by supreme council member Tan Sri Noh Omar as well as five party members from the Pasir Gudang division, nine from the Putrajaya division, two from the Tanjung Karang division and 26 members from the UMNO Pahang chapter.
As reported by CNA, the decision was made following a party supreme council meeting yesterday (27 January 2023) which also saw several other UMNO leaders, most notably the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sembrong, Dato’ Sri Hishammuddin Hussein suspended for 6 years. Other party members that were suspended include former UMNO information chief Shahril Hamdan, Fathul Bari Mat Jahya, Maulizan Bujang and Salim Sharif.
UMNO Secretary-General, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan in a statement clarified that the members who have been sacked were based on disciplinary breaches and wrongdoings during the 15th General Election (GE15). These include becoming independent candidates, candidates for parties other than Barisan Nasional (BN) and being involved in helping opponent parties during GE15.
Taking to Twitter, Khairy responded to the sacking by asserting that he was fired from the party that he loves and gave his loyalty to. He shared,
“Tonight I was expelled from the party that I love, that I give my loyalty to. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.”
Moreover, the former Health Minister even removed mentions of UMNO from his Twitter profile and instead changed it to “President of the Negeri Sembilan Bicycle Racing Association”. It is unclear what Khairy’s next move would be, though he has recently iterated that he won’t join Perikatan Nasional (PN) in response to an invitation by PAS vice-president and Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri to join the coalition.
A popular figure in Malaysian politics, many believe that the sacking by UMNO would not deter the former Health Minister from continuing to strive in the political scene. In fact, some even believed that he could emulate three past UMNO leaders that were sacked and ended up being Prime Minister. The list includes Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
So, what do you guys think of the “purge” that took place in UMNO? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
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