Rahman Dahlan backs Khairy as Umno president

Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan. -Bernama filepic

PETALING JAYA: Khairy Jamaluddin’s entrance as a contender for the Umno presidency has received a lot of support, including from Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

“KJ4President Now that’s out of the box. Totally! #UMNOMemilih2018,” the former Kote Belud MP said in a tweet on Sunday (June 17).

Twitter user @maverick_97 said this was good news.

“If Malaysia can elect a 93 y/o as their PM, why can’t Umno give a 42 y/o who was the top performing minister last term a chance?” he said.

He said there was no one more qualified for the job than Khairy, adding that the former Youth and Sports minister would be the perfect leader to reform Umno.

“He will take former Opposition leaders head on. He will not be scared to be on the same stage as government leaders, unlike our previous Umno leaders,” @maverick_97 added.

Similar views were shared by Twitter user @macfaisal, who said he was glad to hear that Khairy was going for the presidency.

He added that he hoped Khairy would win and transform the party.

“Many said KJ was wrong to not speak out against Najib (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak). Guess what? He himself has said he was wrong. I am sure it’s a lesson learnt for him and it’s never too late to do the right thing,” @macfaisal said.

User @anuarfariz said that if Khairy pulled it off, it could be a first step towards a new Umno.

“But need to do away with the hubris, the Kool-Aid, and the bath water. Keep the baby,” he said.

Khairy will go up against Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the party polls on June 30.

The Rembau MP had earlier indicated that he would be contesting the Umno vice-president’s post.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, the party vice-president now handling the duties of the president following Najib's resignation last month, was the first to announce his candidacy for the No. 1 post.

Tengku Razaleigh, who is the Gua Musang MP, confirmed his candidacy during a press conference at his home in Jalan Langgak Golf in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (June 16).

The 81-year-old Razaleigh’s influence in the party will be put to the test again, after having famously run for the top post in 1987 only to be edged out by a mere 43 votes.

As for Dr Ahmad Zahid, it will be his first attempt for the presidency.

Another challenger is relatively unknown– businessman and blogger Rahmat Azim Abdul Aziz.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said that Khairy was the best candidate for the post as Umno was now deemed as a party in disarray and directionless in its struggle.