KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Kuala Nerus Umno has reportedly dismissed claims made by former PAS leader Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali that he was offered to defend the Terengganu seat under Barisan Nasional’s (BN) ticket.
Division chief Apli Yusof said Khairuddin’s name was never discussed, and argued that any differing claim was circulated to cause disharmony among Umno leaders heading into the 15th general election (GE15).
“We admit that he was present at several Umno programmes with the party’s top leaders, but it has nothing to do with BN candidacies,” Apli said in a report by Utusan Malaysia.
In March this year, Khairuddin quit Islamist party PAS after he was sacked as the secretary of its consultative Syura Council. The now-independent incumbent MP for Kuala Nerus previously said he had been offered to defend the seat, but would only make a decision when the nomination date is closer.
When asked if he would join Umno, Khairuddin said that was also a situation that was undecided and he said he would reveal the matter soon.
Meanwhile, Apli said the Umno division is ready to accept the former PAS leader as long as he genuinely wants to fight alongside Umno and BN.
He claimed that there are several MPs from PAS, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Parti Amanah Negara and PKR who have expressed their readiness to join Umno.
However, he did not name anyone, nor provide proof for his assertion.
Khairuddin has been in the spotlight several times over the past two years, after he caught the public’s attention in July 2020 when Seputeh MP Teresa Kok questioned why the then-minister had not been placed under the mandatory 14-day home quarantine after returning from an official trip to Turkey.
He had also attended a Dewan Rakyat sitting during the quarantine period, to which he was subsequently fined RM1,000 and made a public apology after public backlash.
Khairuddin was also formerly the minister of industries, plantations, and commodities in Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s government.
