KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — Secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki today said that Umno has yet to receive any application from its former youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to rejoin the party.
He said this at a press conference held at the media centre during the Umno General Assembly 2025 here.
“From KJ, not yet,” he said, referring to Khairy’s initials.
However, Asyraf added that Umno had received multiple applications from former members seeking to rejoin the party.
“As secretary-general, I can say that we have indeed received many applications, and we welcome all of them.
“If we understand from the president’s policy speech, this house is open to everyone — all of them — because all of them originally came from the womb of Umno,” he said.
Speculation of Khairy returning to the party intensified after he made an appearance at the party’s annual assembly on Thursday, nearly three years after being expelled from the party.
Khairy, who was sacked in January 2023 after criticising the party’s leadership, attended the event upon an official invitation from current Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, and with the blessing of Zahid himself.
A former Umno Youth chief from 2009 to 2018 and a former Cabinet minister, including as health minister, Khairy described his return to the Umno headquarters as an emotional moment.
However, he played down speculation of an imminent political comeback, urging a “one step at a time” approach.
