KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Umno lawmaker Khairy Jamaluddin has expressed his unhappiness at Barisan Nasional, following the appointment of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the coalition’s advisory board chairman.
“Suddenly, I am not so happy where I am,” Khairy told reporters when asked on the appointment, which was announced yesterday.
The Rembau MP cut a sombre figure, and left immediately without further comment.
Just Monday, Khairy said he was content with being in the Opposition party, following the invitation by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul to join the ruling party.
“I’m quite happy where I am, thank you,” he had said then.
Khairy, however, declined to comment when asked if he has been directly approached to join Pakatan Harapan.
Khairy had vied for the presidency of Umno after Datuk Seri Najib Razak stepped down last year but lost narrowly to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He had been among those who opposed a partnership with Islamists PAS but has since accepted this arrangement.
On Sunday, Syed Saddiq urged Khairy to reject the far-right politics growing within the PAS-Umno structure and join former Umno members such as Dr Mahathir, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed in Bersatu to pursue centrism.
Meanwhile, veteran Umno lawmaker Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah voiced optimism in Najib’s appointment, even though he admitted he was surprised by the decision.
“I was not informed earlier that this was going to happen but I suppose this is good. He is an active member of BN, and he has a lot of experience as former leader of BN and Umno.
“I think we can get some of his practical experiences in light of the problems we face today,” said Tengku Razaleigh.
When asked about the criticism from other party members on the matter, including that of Najib being seen as a liability, the Gua Musang MP said everyone has their reasons to oppose to the appointment.
“They can give their views, we will see if he is a liability or not. To us, all views and advice is valuable and we put it to good use as much as we can in the party.
“[Problems] does not happen only to Umno, other parties have problems too, don’t you think?” he said.
