KUALA LUMPUR — Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar said he will not be appealing his sacking from the party.

He said there is no point in appealing as the decision makers in Umno are the ones who expelled him from his party of 23 years.

“No, I won’t be appealing. I discussed the matter with Noh and Shahril. And what’s the point of appealing? They are intent on throwing us out or keeping us in the sin bin”, he said in an interview with BFM radio this morning.

Khairy, in the first public interview after the sacking on Friday, continued to criticise both president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his deputy Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan saying they have made a “unilateral” decision to silence the voices of dissent of the party.

He added that Umno members from 191 divisions and more than 1,500 branches across the country would want an open contest to revive the party, contrary to the delegates’ wishes during the 2022 Umno eneral assembly earlier this month.

The former Rembau MP, who lost in Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat last election was vocal in criticising Zahid during the 15th general election. Khairy also accused the top leaders of using “imported delegates” during the general assembly to pass the motion disallowing contest for Zahid and Mohamad’s position in the upcoming Umno party polls.

“To have come back from the disastrous electoral performance, Umno require a complete overhaul, starting with its leadership, and that would have necessitated the top two positions being contested during the party election.

“It is only logical to have a contest,” he said.

However, Khairy also said he did not have personal problems with Zahid, saying he still considers the latter as a “friend”.

“I just want to have a free contest against him as he presided over the most disastrous election in Umno history.

“When Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Badawi) lost a two-thirds majority in 2008, he was asked to step down. When Datuk Seri Najib Razak lost the election in 2018, he was asked to step down. It is only fair for Zahid to have a free contest after the election,” he said.

In the interview, which lasted about 45 minutes, Khairy was asked about his future as he was openly offered a place in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition as well as the possibility of joining PKR which has both his friends, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Rafizi Ramli.

He said he had received offers from political, academics as well as corporate fronts but will take time to listen to the offers before making any moves.

“I think I will go and listen to everyone who wants to see me. I have a lot of lunch invitations.

“I don’t think I will pay for my lunch this week or next,” he said, laughing.

Khairy said there is also a possibility of him creating his own party or may take part in the upcoming state election, though he declined to elaborate on the matter.

However, the former minister who had held three portfolios in his career said he won’t be willing to return to Umno anytime soon.

“The gradual decline of Umno I fear has passed the point of no return. If I decide to return it has to be a different entity,” he said, referring to current Umno leadership.

On Friday, Rafizi said PKR will continue to monitor any development on Khairy’s future in politics following his expulsion from Umno and review the situation when necessary.

Meanwhile, The Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ), Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, has hinted at the possibility of offering the posts of JDT FC chief executive officer and Johor Youth Advisor to Khairy.  MM

KUALA LUMPUR — Former Umno Supreme Council member Tan Sri Noh Omar said he was not ready to consider other parties’ offers for him to join, describing himself as in the Iddah (waiting period) divorced Muslim women must observe before the may remarry.

“Who do I want to appeal to, because Umno supreme council has already made a decision? I can accept this decision even though I am sad. Umno has been good to me because, basically, I am just a country-boy who managed to study in London and eventually become a lawyer,”

Noh, who is also the former Selangor Umno chief, said there were many factors to consider before he decided his next steps.

“(It does not matter) if PKR, Amanah wants to invite me; I can come if you want to invite me to be a freelance speaker. We will see the next development.

“I don’t have any ambitions either, for me the important thing is to see which party can really be a place where the people can find shelter and continue to fight for the rights of the Malays.

“I see that all parties are the same in principle, only the journey and the leadership of the party are different. In terms of democracy, I also have to look at the constitution.”

So far, however, Noh said he has not received any offers. He reiterated his readiness to speak to other parties and said he would review his position after the end of the iddah period that was generally 89 days, the length of three lunar months.

Earlier today, former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who was sacked along with Noh, also said he did not intend to appeal the expulsion but would remain loyal to Umno.

Khairy and Noh were among party leaders who were either sacked or suspended last week, in an apparent crackdown on dissidents and malcontents in Umno. MM