Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party has not discussed the possibility of welcoming Khairy Jamaluddin back to their fold, amid rumours of the former youth chief’s return.
Zahid also quashed rumours that he and Khairy had discussed the latter’s re-entry at a wedding reception.
“I met Khairy at a wedding , but we didn’t discuss anything about this,” he told reporters after attending the Festival of Ideas at Putrajaya International Convention Centre here.
Khairy, the former health minister and three-term Rembau MP, was sacked from Umno in January 2023 for breaching party discipline during GE15.
He had been openly critical of Zahid in the lead-up to GE15, especially after Barisan Nasional fielded him to contest the urban Pakatan Harapan stronghold of Sungai Buloh, where he subsequently lost to PKR‘s R Ramanan.
Following BN‘s dismal performance in the last general election, Khairy urged Zahid to step down as Umno president.
And while he had previously said he would not appeal his sacking, Khairy had in July this year said he would “think about” Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh’s offer to help facilitate his return to the party.
Separately, Zahid said the seat negotiations between BN and Pakatan Harapan for the looming Sabah state elections are at its final stages.
He added that he would further announce the numbers of seats to be contested by BN when he visits Kota Kinabalu, Sabah next week.
“I would say 95% of the negotiations are done.”
On Nov 1, Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin said the coalition would contest fewer seats than the 48 it originally planned and urged the party leaders to resolve its seat negotiations with PH soon.
Nominations for the elections will be held on Nov 15, with polling on Nov 29.
