KUALA LUMPUR: He may have been sacked from Umno, but Khairy Jamaluddin may be interested in contesting in the Selangor state elections and says he has a few months to consider this.
“If I want to participate in the state polls, I have to decide in the next few months which way I will go,” he said.
He added that he has been made “several offers,” including the mentri besar post.
Khairy, however, did not disclose which party had offered him the post.
“There are discussions with several parties and there are also discussions taking place on what that role would be,” he said yesterday.
Khairy also said he will only be interested in contesting in the upcoming Selangor state polls if he decides on making an immediate political comeback.
“But if I do decide to sit out the state polls, then I would have more time to decide which political platform I choose as the next chapter in my political journey,” he told senior journalists during a Concorde Club meeting here yesterday.
In high demand: Khairy (centre) with Wong (on Khairy’s right) and other senior journalists taking a photo together at the Concorde Club meeting in Kuala Lumpur. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
The Concorde Club is an informal group of editors and senior journalists who regularly meet with politicians and key policy makers.
Previous guests of the Concorde Club, led by Star Media Group adviser Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, include Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, former premier Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Khairy also said state-level experience would complement his current skill set, as he already had experience as a former three-term Rembau MP and from his time leading three different ministries.
“It (state experience) would help me understand local government, as well as the relationship between the federal and state government.
“So, I do feel it’s a good opportunity. But then, I have to weigh whether I have the appetite to jump back in,” he added.
The term of the Selangor state assembly will expire automatically on Aug 26.
Khairy also said he had no plans on forming a new party.
“The market is a bit saturated and I see there might not be space for a new party in Malaysia.
“Though it’s an option, it’s unlikely (that I will form a new party),” he added.
On Jan 27, the Umno supreme council sacked Khairy and former supreme council member Tan Sri Noh Omar.
Other Umno leaders, who were deemed to have criticised the party president and worked with Opposition parties in the 15th General Election last November, were suspended.
