JOHOR BARU – Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that former PAS leader Datuk Khairuddin Aman Razali will be joining the ranks of the newly formed Umno ulama council.
Following a Facebook post by Zahid, it is understood Khairuddin will be assisting Umno ulama council chairman Datuk Dusuki Ahmad.
Khairuddin formerly served as plantation industries and commodities minister during the Perikatan Nasional administration led by former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
During his tenure in cabinet, Khairuddin drew controversy after he was found to have flouted Covid-19 quarantine requirements after a trip to Turkiye.
Last year, Khairuddin was sacked as secretary of the PAS Syura Council and expelled from the party’s central committee.
Following the loss of his post in PAS, Khairuddin resigned from the party and served Kuala Nerus as an independent parliamentarian, after which he lost his seat during the 2022 general election.
Meanwhile, touching on Umno’s ulama council, Zahid expressed confidence that Dusuki’s experience and friendships with Islamic scholars globally would assist Umno on religious matters.
“This afternoon I had the opportunity to meet with Dusuki, an old friend whom I announced as the chairman of Umno’s ulama council during the party’s general assembly last Saturday.
“I know Dusuki not just as a religious scholar, thinker, and Umno veteran, but also as a close friend whom Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim himself, when he was finance minister, asked to be entrusted as Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia governor,” said Zahid. – The Vibes, January 17, 2022
