KJ says he did not leave Umno, he was expelled

SHAH ALAM – Former Umno youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin says he never left the party, stressing that it was Umno that decided to expel him.

The former health minister said several parties had commented on the matter, prompting him to clarify his stand.

"Some people have been commenting on the news. Let me be perfectly clear: I never left Umno. Umno expelled me.

"Please don't try to rewrite history," he said in an Instagram Story posted on Sunday.

Khairy also asked for several weeks before responding to speculations about his possible return to Umno, following reports suggesting he could rejoin the party ahead of the Sabah state election later this month.

"Many have sent messages asking what's going on? Give me a couple of weeks before I'm ready to answer," he added.

It was reported that Khairy, who is currently Hot FM's radio presenter had received the "blessing" of Umno’s top leadership, including its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to rejoin the party.

Zahid was said to have asked Khairy to submit his membership application after his expulsion in January 2023.

Khairy reportedly expressed his intention to return to Umno during an informal meeting with Zahid at the wedding reception of Perlis Umno chairman Datuk Rozabil Abdul Rahman’s son recently.

In a separate statement, Barisan Nasional Sabah chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said Khairy should remain loyal to Umno if he decided to return to politics and avoid leaving the party again.

However, the former Rembau MP reiterated that he never abandoned Umno and pointed out that clear evidence of his expulsion was publicly available.

His post also featured a screenshot of a news report covering his dismissal from the party.

The post also included a screenshot of a news article reporting his expulsion from Umno.

"There's plenty of 'receipts' on the Internet (of my expulsion). Don't be so illiterate," he wrote.

Since his expulsion, Khairy has focused on his podcast "Keluar Sekejap," which now has over 397,000 subscribers.

He was removed from Umno in January 2023 for openly criticising the party’s top leadership during the 15th General Election campaign, in which he also lost his bid for the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat.