Even Dr M is welcome to rejoin Umno, says Ahmad Maslan

2026-03-17 - 16:01

Ahmad Maslan (left) said even if Dr Mahathir Mohamad were to submit an application, it would be deliberated by Umno’s Supreme Council. PETALING JAYA: Umno is open to readmitting any former member who wishes to return to the party, including prominent figures like its former president Dr Mahathir Mohamad, says Supreme Council member Ahmad Maslan. Ahmad said anyone could apply to rejoin Umno and its top leadership would consider all applications, adding that the party was taking a “forgive and forget” approach. He said even if Mahathir were to submit an application, it would be deliberated by the Supreme Council, Harian Metro reported. “Umno’s doors are always open. If there is an application, we will discuss it and make a collective decision,” he said when met at an iftar event with the public works department and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in Kuching. He added that several categories of applicants are being considered for readmission, including those who faced disciplinary action, those who left voluntarily, and those seeking to join the party’s cause for the first time. Mahathir joined Umno in the 1940s and became Kedah Umno chairman in 1959. He was sacked from the party by then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, but later rejoined Umno and was elected as one of its vice-presidents in 1975. In 1981, he became the party’s president, a post he held for over 22 years. In May 2008, he quit Umno to protest the administration of his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He joined the party again before quitting for the second time in 2016 to protest the administration of prime minister Najib Razak. Mahathir then led Bersatu, Pejuang and the Gerakan Tanah Air coalition, before establishing a “Malay secretariat committee” in June 2025, in an effort to advocate for Malay interests under one “big umbrella”. Earlier this month, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party’s doors were “unconditionally” open to former members, and that “all past mistakes and differences would be forgiven” in the spirit of Ramadan. He said the Rumah Bangsa task force, chaired by party vice-president Khaled Nordin, would coordinate the re-entry process for former members wishing to return. Ex-Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has applied to rejoin the party, while former vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein has formally requested that his suspension be lifted.