I’m ‘coming home’, KJ says after applying to rejoin Umno

2026-03-16 - 08:34

Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he has formally applied to rejoin Umno, a little over three years after he was sacked from the party. PETALING JAYA: Khairy Jamaluddin declared he was “coming home” after formally applying to rejoin Umno, some three years after he was sacked from the party. In a Facebook post today, the former Umno Youth chief also said he wanted the party to withdraw his sacking so he could get his original membership number back. “I hope the Umno president, Supreme Council, and the Rumah Bangsa committee will consider my request,” he said, referring to the committee overseeing an initiative to unite the Malays. Khairy said his decision to return to Umno’s fold was not for personal gain and pledged to contribute to the party as a regular member. Earlier today, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that Khairy had applied to return to Umno when they met yesterday. Zahid said the application will be forwarded to the Rumah Bangsa committee chaired by Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin for further action. Khairy, a former minister who held various portfolios, was sacked from the party in January 2023 for breaching party discipline during the 2022 general election (GE16). In 2024, the former health minister said he had rejected offers to join other parties because he still saw himself as an Umno member. Earlier this month, Khairy expressed interest in returning to Umno after party president Zahid Hamidi said the party was opening its doors to former members who were sacked or suspended. It was also reported last October, that Khairy was set to rejoin Umno after obtaining Zahid’s “blessing”.