The former youth chief gave no details but was believed to be hinting at an official return to Umno.

“Today is a very, very emotional day for me. I had the chance to return to my party’s general assembly.

“God willing, (there will be) good things after this,” he told reporters after the opening of the Umno Youth assembly here today.

When asked if this meant he was returning to Umno, Khairy only said that he would “do what needs to be done”.

“We’ll take it one step at a time,” he added.

The former Rembau MP said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had given him his blessing to attend the Umno Youth general assembly following an invitation by the wing’s chief, Dr Akmal Saleh.

He said he had been willing to skip the event if Zahid did not want him to attend.

Khairy was visibly emotional as he received a rapturous welcome at the Umno Youth general assembly this morning, in what Akmal described as the symbolic return of a prominent leader to his “home”.

Khairy was sacked from Umno in January 2023 for breaching party discipline during the 15th general election.

He had been openly critical of Zahid in the lead-up to the 2022 general election, especially after Barisan Nasional fielded him to contest the urban Pakatan Harapan stronghold of Sungai Buloh. He lost the contest to PKR’s R Ramanan by 2,693 votes.