Khairy, who recently rejoined the party following his sacking in 2023, said Umno still had a long way to go in reclaiming voter trust.

“We can’t just say, ‘Oh, we’ve made mistakes, now vote for us again’. Acknowledging the mistakes sets the stage for us to perhaps reintroduce ourselves to swing voters or those in the middle ground who may have lost trust in us,” he told reporters after attending Umno’s 80th anniversary convention here.

Khairy was asked to comment on a warning by Umno vice-president Johari Ghani earlier today that the party should not cling to nostalgia. Johari said party members must accept that Umno is no longer the dominant political force it once was, and must accept that it held only 26 parliamentary seats and no longer leads the government.

Umno is part of the Pakatan Harapan-led unity government.

Khairy said he agreed that Umno’s image was still lacking to some extent. He said it was not enough for Umno to just reminisce about the past. “We come up with a new set of ideas and suggestions on what we would offer voters if we are given the opportunity to govern again,” he said.