BUTTERWORTH: The publisher of the book 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Menjadi Perdana Menteri has announced his interest to fight for the Batu Kawan Umno division chief post next month.

Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan, 46, said Umno needed to be reformed at all levels and he would take on the challenge to restore the party's image and make it relevant to the Malays.

Khairuddin had published the book on Anwar in 1996, two years before the former Deputy Prime Minister was sacked.

At a press conference here yesterday, Khairuddin claimed there were too many kaki bodek (apple polishers) in Umno now and the party had to get rid of the unhealthy culture that would erode the confidence of the Malays in Umno.

“I will speak my mind and I believe the Malays now need leaders with principles and not hypocrites.

“I know many Umno leaders are just seat warmers who do nothing to safeguard their positions despite knowing the cry for change at grassroots level.”

Khairuddin is a member of the Umno Taman Murai branch. Former Penang deputy chief minister Datuk Seri Ibrahim Saad is the incumbent chief of the Batu Kawan division.

A three-corner fight is expected for the post as the division’s deputy chairman Datuk Nordin Kassim is also joining the fray. There are 31 branches in the division.