KUALA LUMPUR – Sacked Umno leader Khairy Jamaluddin is giving some thought to forming his own political party.
Speaking on the latest episode of his talk show Keluar Sekejap today, the former health minister said this is an option he had been thinking about recently.
However, he also felt conflicted as he believed the market for political parties was "already saturated".
“But I think if we can have a second chance, why not on our own terms?
“Not everyone gets a chance again without resorting to party-hopping.
“Maybe I want to do it on my own terms,” he said on the show, which he co-hosts with former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan.
Khairy, however, added that he has to be realistic about the prospect of starting his own party, saying that a new outfit would not necessarily mean that he could win in elections so soon.
He cited Pejuang’s experience, the party founded by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after leaving Pakatan Harapan, which failed to make any gains in the 15th general election last November and whose candidates even lost election deposits.
Mahathir recently quit Pejuang.
“If we start our own party, we have to be ready not to win for a few elections, and then maybe one day, who knows,” said Khairy.
He and Shahril, who were respectively sacked and suspended from Umno in January in a purge of dissidents by party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, were discussing the matter of when they would return to active politics on their show.
Khairy is being courted by Perikatan Nasional (PN) party, Bersatu, ahead of elections in six states: Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
The former Rembau MP added that in contrast to setting up a new party, joining an existing one would require adjustments to be made, and that he wouldn't be doing politics on “his own terms”. – The Vibes, June 5, 2023
