Khairy: UMNO Should Reclaim Its Centrist And Progressive Roots
The Rembau MP also revealed his wish to run for UMNO presidency in 2021.
By Jia Vern Tham — 27 Sep 2018, 03:23 PM
Rembau Member of Parliament (MP) Khairy Jamaluddin said earlier today, 27 September, that his party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), should reclaim its "centrist" and "progressive" roots
"UMNO should reclaim its original roots," Khairy told BFM today.
"The UMNO that I joined was the UMNO of Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak, a centrist party, a progressive party," he added, before saying that his party did not need to rely on race and religion to gain support.
The former Youth and Sports Minister also claimed that although UMNO had leaned towards right-wing politics once in a while, it used to have the "tendency to correct itself"
"It (UMNO) always had the tendency to come back to the centre, even during the days of (Tun Dr.) Mahathir (Mohamad) when he was the president of UMNO," Khairy said.
"Unfortunately, since the last General Election, the present leadership of UMNO has decided that the way back to power is to consolidate support among the Malay community. It doesn't work like that," the Rembau MP added.
The ex-UMNO youth chief added that leaving the party is his last resort, as he plans to run for presidency again in 2021
"I would like to have another bite to the cherry (presidency) in another three years, and this time to win," Khairy said.
Malay Mail reported that the Rembau MP was defeated by Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for the UMNO presidency post in the party election on 30 June.
However, his decision depends on whether UMNO can stay true to its roots.
"If it (UMNO) continues to morph into something unrecognisable, it will force many of us, not just myself, to rethink our future. I hope it doesn't get to that because I don't want to go there. UMNO is my house," Khairy added.