Malaysia’s UMNO set to restore Khairy, Hishammuddin as election season nears
The Straits Times
The two former ministers are set to return to the fold as UMNO seeks to strengthen its position ahead of upcoming state and federal elections. Read more at straitstimes.com.
KUALA LUMPUR - Former UMNO ministers Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein are set to return to the fold of Malaysia’s once dominant political party.
This comes as UMNO moves to strengthen its ranks ahead of three state elections due by mid-2027 and amid growing talk that national polls due by early 2028 might be held earlier.
Mr Khairy, 50, the party’s former youth chief and ex-health minister, visited Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi on March 15 to “request that my sacking from UMNO is rescinded and my original membership is reactivated”.
“I’m coming home,” Mr Khairy wrote in the caption of a March 16 Instagram photo of him handing his formal application to Datuk Seri Dr Zahid.
Former UMNO vice president Hishammuddin Hussein and ex-defence minister, 64, has also formally requested to restore his membership status, according to UMNO secretary general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki in a Facebook post on March 16.
While Datuk Seri Hishammuddin has not yet posted a statement directly confirming the submission of a formal letter to the party, he said in a video posted on Instagram on March 12 that he is prepared to return and be active in Umno once again if his suspension is lifted.
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