KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — Umno has never closed its doors to anyone, even those it has expelled in the past, Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said today.

The party secretary-general said Umno’s longstanding policy is to accept anyone who fully embraces its philosophy, vision, and mission.

"Umno has always opened its doors to anyone who wants to rejoin, as long as they fully subscribe to our core values.

"This is nothing new as we have been accepting many of those in the past. More importantly for everyone to be together in the agenda to strengthen the party for the sake of the nation and the people,” he told Malay Mail when contacted for comment to a plan by the party’s Negeri Sembilan division to take back some members that were sacked as part of a "cleansing” after the polarising Election 2023 when Umno chose to ally itself to political nemesis Pakatan Harapan to form a "unity government”.

Asyraf indicated that the only condition for former members to be welcomed back into the fold was for them to avoid repeating past mistakes, particularly on internal bickering that creates factions within the party and disrupts the entire organisation and its agenda.

"Most importantly the party is established for the people and it has to prioritise on serving the people; not to satisfy self interest,” he added.

Earlier today, news portal New Straits Times reported Negeri Sembilan Umno chief Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias saying the party giving a second chance to former members who had been sacked since early last year as part of a political "cleansing” and reinstate them.

"In Negeri Sembilan, the state Umno secretary and divisional secretaries have been instructed to vet and consider applications only from those who still demonstrate loyalty to and alignment with the party’s struggles.

"The cleansing process previously carried out by the party aimed to remove those who were no longer interested in Umno and believed the party would become weak,” Jalaluddin, who is also an Umno supreme council member, was quoted as saying after launching the Amar Penghulu Umno branch meeting at the Dewan Budaya Kampung Amar Penghulu in Jelebu last night.

Several prominent party leaders such as former Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, former Tanjong Karang MP Tan Sri Noh Omar, and Isham Jalil are among those expelled in the purge.

Umno has also temporarily suspended several leaders, including Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan.