By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Jan 28: Former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and 44 others have been expelled by Umno while former Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has been suspended.
This took place just past midnight yesterday following an announcement through a statement.
In response, Khairy Jamaluddin posted the following status on his social media pages: “Tonight, I was sacked by the party that I love, whom I gave my allegiance to. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.”
As of press time, Hishammuddin has remained silent on this latest development.
The sacking took effect after the Umno Supreme Council meeting on Jan 27.
Khairy’s expulsion did not come as a surprise as he has been critical about the party leadership and has been holding a dissenting view that the party must reform from within for it to survive.
To him, “Having a different view from party leadership and calling for respect towards democratic process does not mean disloyalty to the party”.
According to Malaysiakini which quoted an Umno source, it was Khairy’s aspirations to “clean up” Umno that has gotten him sacked.
The source said it was not due to Khairy’s objection to Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s presidency, but rather it is because of the speech which he gave during the 15th General Election campaign where Khairy expressed his belief that the party had “gone astray”.
This is against the most common speculation that Khairy has been sacked for his claim of Zahid’s “imported delegates” at the recent general assembly to secure top post.
Khairy was Umno chief from 2008 to 2018. — DayakDaily
