KJ can form own party if he is a youth ‘magnet’, says Puad

KJ can form own party if he is a youth ‘magnet’, says Puad

Puad Zarkashi says Ismail Sabri Yaakob should have asked the Umno Supreme Council to let Khairy Jamaluddin be the party's 'poster boy' for GE15.

Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi (left) says Khairy Jamaluddin can emulate Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and start his own party.
PETALING JAYA:
Former Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin can emulate Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and start his own party if he truly is a “magnet” that can attract the youth, says Umno’s Puad Zarkashi.

However, the Umno Supreme Council member questioned if Khairy managed to draw youngsters to support the party when he was the Umno Youth chief.

“It’s possible that youths supported Khairy, but not Umno. Since Khairy isn’t appealing his sacking (from Umno), there would be nothing wrong if he formed a new party.

“We’ll see then whether youngsters will follow Khairy in droves,” Puad said in a Facebook post.

Yesterday, Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Khairy’s sacking was a loss for Umno as he was a “magnet” that attracted youths to the party.

Ismail described Khairy as a “youth icon”, adding that shutting out dissenting voices of the youth was a disservice to Umno.

In a dig at Ismail, Puad said the former prime minister should have asked the Umno Supreme Council to make Khairy the party’s prime ministerial candidate for the 15th general election (GE15) instead of himself.

“He should have suggested that Khairy replace him as the poster boy for GE15,” he added.

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