MALAYSIA — Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, was expelled by his own party UMNO (The United Malays National Organisation) yesterday night (27 January).
A statement issued by UMNO secretary-general Ahmad Maslan following the party’s supreme council meeting, also confirmed that its supreme council Tan Sri Noh Omar, was also suspended and later, he requested to be sacked.
UMNO memberships for Khairy and Noh Omar were terminated for breaching party discipline during the Malaysia 15th General Election (GE15).
Others punished included former vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, a former defence minister, who was suspended for six years.
In his latest post, Mr Khairy who was also a former UMNO Youth chief, wrote: “Tonight I was sacked by my beloved party, to which I owe allegiance. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.”
The former Rembau member of parliament is one of the UMNO leaders who called on UMNO chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to resign after the party suffered a catastrophic loss in GE 15.
During the recent UMNO general assembly, a motion was approved to bar a challenge for the president and deputy president’s posts in the party election.
In a 4-minute TikTok clip, Mr Khairy criticised that “dirty tactics” are being employed to ensure there is no contest for the top two posts.
He alleged that ‘phantom delegates’ were being brought in to bulldoze the motion.
In 2018, 47-year-old Khairy ran for UMNO’s presidency but lost to current president Zahid Hamidi.
Recently, Khairy had intended to contest for the presidency again and canvassed for support from Pakatan Harapan.
At a forum early this year with Anthony Loke, Democratic Action Party (DAP)’s Secretary-General as a fellow panellist, Khairy declared that UMNO will continue to back the Anwar Ibrahim-led unity government if he or his allies become the party’s president.
Zahid said UMNO will undergo “mass cleansing”
A day earlier, Zahid told the media that the party will undergo “mass cleansing” to eliminate “saboteurs”, and those who have “shot themselves in the foot”.
“Whoever feels guilty, or does not, will know tomorrow (their fate),” he said.
Following Barisan Nasional’s tragic loss in GE15, its chairman, Zahid has been embattled with criticism and calls to step down.
With only 30 seats secured out of the contested 177 seats, BN is seeing its worst result in the coalition’s history.
UMNO won 26 seats out of 120 seats contested, while another BN component party, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) gained only two seats out of 44 contested seats.
Tan Sri Annuar Musa, a veteran leader in UMNO also sacked from his party in December last year for violating party’s Constitution as well as matters regarding members’ code of conduct.
