That Khairy Jamaluddin’s return to UMNO after being expelled for three years is strictly a matter of power, not principle.
There is no principle involved in either Khairy’s sacking or reinstatement. He was not expelled because he opposed a policy or approach by UMNO, and he is not being reinstated because whatever he opposed has been abandoned, or because he has recanted.
Instead, he was likely expelled because he challenged Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s power as the head of UMNO.
We all know Khairy wants to be the next president of UMNO and Prime Minister of Malaysia. We know this because he challenged Zahid for the top post in Umno in 2018, and he openly stated that he wanted to be Prime Minister in the 2022 elections. Ambition, in Khairy’s case, has never been hidden — it has always been declared.
It is likely because of this ambition that he was moved from his stronghold in Rembau to contest in the opposition stronghold of Sungai Buloh in the 2022 election — effectively to be sacrificed. In politics, such moves are rarely accidental. They are calculated. They are designed.
Although Khairy lost in Sungai Buloh, the narrow margin of defeat still left him in a position of relative strength. Losing narrowly in hostile territory can sometimes be more politically valuable than winning comfortably in a safe seat — it signals resilience, reach, and relevance beyond one’s base.
UMNO, however, recorded its worst performance in history in the 2022 election under Zahid’s leadership. The contrast could not have been clearer: a party in decline under its president, and a challenger who, despite defeat, remained politically alive.
Following that, Khairy openly criticised Zahid, including calling for his resignation as UMNO president. Not long after, he was expelled from the party.
For three years, Khairy was a masterless ronin — serving no party while maintaining his relevance through his Keluar Sekejap podcast. In that period, he did something many politicians fail to do outside of power: he stayed relevant. He remained in the public conversation. He cultivated an audience that extended beyond party lines.
He also repeatedly refused to return to UMNO or align with any other party. This refusal is telling. It suggests that Khairy was not interested in merely being politically active — he was waiting. Waiting for the right moment. Waiting for the right configuration of power. Waiting, perhaps, for the right opening at the top.
Now, however, Khairy is returning to UMNO — and this is where the official narrative begins to diverge sharply from political reality.
After meeting Zahid, Khairy confirmed that he has formally applied to rejoin the party, describing his return as a “homecoming” under UMNO’s “Rumah Bangsa” initiative. He declared, “Insya’Allah, I’m coming home,” and stressed that he was not seeking any position, claiming he only wished to return as an ordinary “crew member” to help steady the party’s ship.
He even extended the metaphor, saying that if there were loose planks, he would tighten them; if there were nails to be hammered, he would hammer them.
Taken at face value, this paints the picture of a humbled politician returning out of loyalty, ready to serve without ambition.
But you would have to be born yesterday to believe that.
Politicians do not give up ambition — they postpone it. They recalibrate it. They disguise it when necessary. And in Khairy’s case, there is little in his past behaviour to suggest that he has suddenly abandoned his long-standing goal of leading UMNO, and ultimately, the country.
Khairy has almost certainly returned because he now sees a pathway to the top.
But what exactly does he see?
That is something we will only discover in time. However, we can begin to sketch the outlines of the possibilities.
We know Khairy has said that he believes Zahid could become Prime Minister in the future. This is not a trivial statement. It suggests that Khairy sees Zahid not necessarily as a permanent obstacle, but perhaps as part of a transitional arrangement.
We also know that Hamzah Zainudin, the expelled number two of Bersatu, has had talks with Zahid. This hints at shifting alliances that could redraw the current political landscape.
We know that MIC was on the verge of joining PN but pulled out at the last minute — another sign that alignments are fluid, not fixed.
And we know that Anwar Ibrahim is beset with challenges on multiple fronts — rising racial and religious tensions, economic pressures such as oil prices, regional discontent from Sabah and Sarawak, and internal strains involving figures like Rafizi Ramli.
None of these developments, on their own, guarantee a pathway for Khairy. But taken together, they suggest instability — and in politics, instability creates opportunity.
The question is not whether a pathway exists. The question is whether Khairy has correctly identified one — and whether he can navigate it better than his rivals.
How all these pieces come together to create a pathway for Khairy to reach the top is still unclear.
But what is clear is this: Khairy believes the pathway exists — and that is why he is returning to UMNO.
At present, I have four names on my list of likely politicians to replace Anwar as the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.
At number one, I place Nurul Izzah Anwar, as she currently has the clearest and easiest pathway to the top — through continuity, legacy, and positioning within the ruling coalition.
At number two, I place Dr Sam, who also has a pathway, though it is less defined and more contingent on shifting alliances.
At number three, Khairy.
And at number four, Rafizi.
However, rankings in politics are not static — they are dynamic. They change as circumstances change.
Although Khairy is number three today, my gut instinct is that his prospects may rise as the next general election approaches. If the conditions align — if UMNO reconfigures itself, if alliances shift, if leadership transitions occur — Khairy could move not only ahead of Dr Sam, but into a direct contest with Nurul Izzah.
And if that happens, then his “return as a crew member” will be remembered not as an act of humility, but as the opening move in a much larger game.
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