PUTRAJAYA, July 3 — Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin said he planned to take "a short break” from assuming any political posts.

After losing to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the race to lead Umno on Saturday, Khairy has been touted as a possible candidate to be federal Opposition leader.

However, the former Umno Youth chief told a press conference today that did not have an immediate interest in the role.

"I do not wish to hold any position at the moment. I want to take a short break and make sure I can speak up freely in ensuring my party will perform.

"If I were to hold a position, it would be somewhat restricted… but I’ll be in Parliament, of course,” he said after the official handover at the Youth and Sports Ministry here, today.

Khairy insisted that the result of Umno election demonstrated an appetite for reform, claiming the votes for him and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah represented this desire.

"It’s not fair to say they don’t want changes but it’s just that there were options to pick from.”

He then expressed hope that Zahid could lead Umno to change and improve, saying the party delegates would be disappointed otherwise.

On Saturday, Ahmad Zahid was elected as the new Umno president with a plurality 93 votes out of the total 191 party division chiefs.

Khairy was second with 51 votes while Tengku Razaleigh received 23 votes.