MELAKA, April 18 — Former UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin were among those who were accepted back into UMNO under the Gagasan Rumah Bangsa initiative.
Its secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the matter was decided at the Supreme Council meeting chaired by UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last night.
Those accepted back unconditionally included former Foreign Minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar and 6,252 former leaders and members at division and branch levels throughout Malaysia.
“All the names have been brought to the Rumah Bangsa Committee, chaired by (UMNO vice-president) Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin, and to the Supreme Council just now. In terms of the constitution, everything must go through the Supreme Council,” he said at a media conference last night.
The meeting was also attended by Melaka UMNO state liaison chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.
Asyraf added that the UMNO Supreme Council amended the party membership rules to enable online registration for smoother enrollment of new members, especially youths, beginning this Monday (April 20).
The measure was taken after a survey by UMNO Youth and UMNO Puteri on social media that found about 2,800 youth were interested in joining the party in the last two weeks.
On the issue of cost of living, he said the Supreme Council recommended that states led by the party, namely Johor, Melaka, Perak, and Pahang, focus on additional aid for various segments of society that are facing challenges in terms of cost of living due to the global energy crisis stemming from the West Asian conflict.
On UMNO’s 80th anniversary celebrations, various programmes will be held at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur from May 1 to May 5, including the UMNO 80 Year Convention, the Bumiputera Education Congress, the Entrepreneurial and Education Carnival, and the special UMNO Youth and UMNO Puteri gatherings with new members.
Asyraf noted that last night’s meeting also provided approval for UMNO Women’s, Youth and Puteri wings to hold physical and online branch-level conferences for years without party elections, in line with Article 10.15 of the UMNO Constitution.
