Those who ‘Keluar Sekejap’ can stay out of Umno for good, says Zahid

Those who ‘Keluar Sekejap’ can stay out of Umno for good, says Zahid

PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says those who “keluar sekejap” (exited briefly) from the party can do so for good, as he focuses on strengthening unity within the party.

The Bagan Datuk MP said Umno has become “small” because of factions that had taken place within the party, noting that it had only won 26 seats in the last general election (GE15) in November 2022.

“My goal is to reunite (party members), those who left can do so for good. Those who ‘keluar sekejap’ can stay out forever.

“Whoever remains with the party must stay loyal, and they must put the party’s interest above their own,” he said on a Buletin TV3 podcast today.

Former Umno youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and ex-information chief Shahril Hamdan started the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast in 2023, discussing political, social and other contemporary issues. The series has a total of 141 episodes to date.

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Khairy, a former health minister, was sacked from Umno in January 2023 for breaching party discipline during GE15. Shahril, on the other hand, was given a six-year suspension from the party in August 2022.

In December last year, Zahid said Khairy was welcome to return to Umno if he could prove his commitment to the party. Khairy, however, said he would only rejoin the party if it commits to becoming a “better Umno”.

Zahid today said it was better for the party to sail with smaller numbers rather than having to deal with members that were a “pain in the neck”.

Without mentioning names, Zahid also said Umno members should not be afraid of being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. He said they must be truthful just like him when he was investigated and charged over corruption allegations.

“Just tell investigators the truth. Let the courts decide (on your innocence) like I did. I was slapped with 87 charges but I defended myself in court,” he said.

“I was not worried and I stuck with Umno.”