Khairy Jamaluddin received a raucous welcome upon his return to Umno‘s headquarters today, two years after being expelled from the party.
The Umno Youth chief was invited as a panellist for a forum titled “Reforming the Education System in the Age of AI and Empowering the Teaching Profession”, which the wing organised at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.
His presence fuelled speculation that the former three-term Rembau MP may be rejoining Umno soon, following his January 2023 expulsion for breaching party discipline.
Earlier reports had suggested that Khairy, a former health minister, was expected to return to Umno ahead of the Sabah state election on Nov 29.
The audience appeared excited by Khairy’s presence, with some standing and repeatedly chanting “Hidup Khairy!” (“Long live Khairy!”) and applauding whenever he shared his views.
During the discussion, Khairy proposed several measures to ease the workload of teachers, including using artificial intelligence to help prepare teaching materials and assist with student assessments.
At the end of the event, he expressed his appreciation to Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh for inviting him.
Akmal responded by saying that the invitation was made with Umno’s future in mind.
“We organised this programme for the country’s future, and we dared to invite KJ for Umno’s future,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.
Approached later, Khairy gave a brief reply when asked if he is returning to Umno soon, saying: “When the time comes, I will inform the media.”
At a separate press conference, Akmal said Umno Youth welcomed the return of members who remained loyal to the party’s struggle, including those who had been suspended or expelled.
He said that since taking over as Umno Youth chief, he had consistently emphasised that Umno must remain united to preserve the party’s strength.
“I’ve always said that there’s no point in fighting for too long. Let’s unite and come together … what matters most is that Umno can move forward,” he said when asked about Khairy’s potential return.
