LETTER | With limited options, joining PN may be KJ’s best bet

LETTER | Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who was sacked by Umno a few days back, is now in a dilemma about his political future.

Khairy has stated that he is not going to appeal against his dismissal. He has also commented about his plans of standing for the state assembly elections in Selangor, which he now calls “home” after his exit from Rembau, Negri Sembilan.

He has rightly stated that Selangor, the most populous, developed and resourceful state in the country is the epicentre of national politics. His electoral foray in the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat has made him realise the importance of Selangor, which he intends to use as the launch pad for his political ambition of becoming Malaysia’s future prime minister.

Without a party, Khairy will be helpless and will not be able to do well in the impending Selangor state election, which is expected to be held after Hari Raya Puasa.

Even though Khairy has made it known that he will support Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his government, there are some serious impediments to becoming a PKR member or any of the Pakatan Harapan parties.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is the lynchpin of the unity government and Anwar will definitely have to listen to his opinion as otherwise, it will rock the boat and endanger his government.

Most probably, despite Khairy's show of support, Anwar will turn down his request to be a member of the Harapan parties and that includes all those sacked from Umno recently.

The next option will be for Khairy to team up with Perikatan Nasional (PN), especially Bersatu, which is a more liberal party than PAS, whose fundamental Islamic policies he may not fully support.

As such, Bersatu needs to open its doors not only for Khairy but others like Noh Omar and offer them state seats to contest in Selangor.

An executive councillor position in Selangor can be said is as equal to that of a cabinet minister. With all these ex-cabinet ministers in Bersatu, the chances of PN wresting Selangor from Harapan will be bright.

A recent survey revealed that only the overwhelmingly Chinese-dominated state constituencies are safe for Harapan - and that for the others, especially the mixed constituencies, it could turn out to be either way.

As it is, the Selangor state government is mired in problems, ranging from environmental to municipality issues, and many supporters who voted for Harapan in the last three elections have become disillusioned and disheartened.

They may think twice about whether to support a Harapan government, which initially promised to be an exemplary one but turned out to be otherwise.

Khairy popular in Sg Buloh

Umno is weak and may not fare well even in the Malay majority areas in the outlying districts of Selangor, and will not be able to help Harapan to secure Selangor.

However, Khairy is already well known in the Sg Buloh parliamentary constituency, which has two state seats namely Kota Damansara which is mainly urban and Paya Jaras which is suburban.

Both seats will be a fitting choice for a development-oriented politician like Khairy.

Khairy is already well known in both constituencies and made Sg Buloh even more popular nationwide when he was “exiled” and chose to contest for the “no other choice” parliamentary seat.

He lost the election narrowly and it can be attributed to the fact that he did not have big-time party support and also due to the loss of support of the Malays for Umno.

This was clearly proven by the party's drubbing in the 15th general election at the hands of PN. The winner R Ramanan, although not as well known as Khairy, was able to get the full support of the Harapan party members who went all out to secure his maiden electoral victory.

Hence, Khairy can rely on this newly built support in the two state constituencies should he decide to stand for a state seat. He can re- build a bright political future using Selangor as his new base.

Malaysian politics is in flux right now and making a decision needs to be carefully considered. However, when all the doors appear shut and only the PN is bidding you a warm welcome, the decision-making becomes easier.

Anyway, those in the PN leadership are your ex-ministerial colleagues in the previous government, with whom you have a good rapport and can establish a binding relationship to fulfil your ambition.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.